Norair Aslanyan ( hy, Նորայր Ասլանյան}; né Norair Mamedov; born 25 March 1991) is an Armenian
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
winger for
OFC Oostzaan
OFC Oostzaan is a football club from Oostzaan, Netherlands. It competes in the Tweede Divisie since 2022.
History
Oostzaan promoted to the Sunday Derde Divisie in 2016. In 2022, it promoted to the Tweede Divisie after winning a Tweede Divisie ...
in the Dutch
Derde Divisie.
Early life
Aslanyan was born on 25 March 1991 in the village of
Karahunj
Karahunj ( hy, Քարահունջ) is a village in the Goris Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia ...
in the
Armenian SSR, to Armenian parents. Prior to his birth, the family had adopted the Azerbaijani surname of "Mamedov" in order to move to Europe easily and get the status of Azeri refugees during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The family later moved to the Netherlands. Aslanyan grew up speaking both
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
.
Club career
Aslanyan started playing football in the Netherlands at the age of 13 with the youth team of
FC Groningen. At 17, Aslanyan was part of the FC Groningen team that became the junior champions of the Netherlands; he also participated in a youth tournament held in the United States, where the team took 2nd place.
While playing with the youth team, he was noticed by coaches from the first team.
In 2009, he was loaned to
SC Veendam
Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 an ...
, scoring two goals in his debut game for their youth team. In October 2010, Aslanyan was loaned to
SC Cambuur
SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...
. He played for the club's senior team in the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...
, while also training with FC Groningen. As part of Cambuur, he made his senior, professional debut on 15 October 2010 in a match against
RKC Waalwijk
RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...
; the match ended in a 1–1 draw. Aslanyan made a total of 7 league appearances during his loan spell,
as well as one appearance in the KNVB Cup.
Following the end of his loan, Aslanyan made his senior debut for Groningen on 3 March 2011 in the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
league, losing 1–4 at home to
Heracles Almelo. He made four further league appearances for the club.
Aslanyan was loaned to
FC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a tot ...
later in the season. At the end of the season, he moved to
FC Emmen on a free transfer.
He signed for
Willem II in July 2013. After one season, he was sent on loan to
Almere City.
After a spell in Armenia with
Alashkert, he returned to Dutch club
FC Emmen in January 2018.
On 27 May 2019 it was confirmed, that Aslanyan had joined OFC Oostzaan.
International career
On 20 February 2012, Armenian national manager
Vardan Minasyan
Vardan Minasyan ( hy, Վարդան Մինասյան; born 5 January 1974) is a former Armenian footballer who played as a midfielder, and is the former football manager of FC Taraz in the Kazakhstan Premier League.
Minasyan has been largely cred ...
called Aslanyan up to the senior national team squad for forthcoming friendly matches against Serbia and Canada. However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to an injury he had picked up playing club football.
Aslanyan received a further call-up in May 2012.
In January 2013, he received yet another call-up for the
Armenian national team. He made his national team debut against
Luxembourg national team on 5 February 2013.
Style of play
Aslanyan plays as an attacker, and is known for his speed and acceleration.
Personal life
Norair is married to Anna Aslanyan. They both met at an Armenian party in the Netherlands and began dating afterwards. He changed his surname to hers before he joined the Armenian national squad.
After changing his name to Norair Aslanyan, he briefly played under the name "Aslanyan-Mamedov" before a final decision on his documents was made.
Aslanyan has a number of tattoos – a drawing of some roses are depicted, and the first letters are the names of his family, written in the Armenian language, on his hands.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aslanyan, Norair
1991 births
Living people
People from Syunik Province
Association football wingers
Dutch footballers
Armenian footballers
Armenian expatriate footballers
Armenia international footballers
FC Groningen players
SC Veendam players
SC Cambuur players
PEC Zwolle players
FC Emmen players
Willem II (football club) players
Almere City FC players
SC Telstar players
FC Alashkert players
VV Katwijk players
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
Tweede Divisie players
Armenian Premier League players
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Armenian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
OFC Oostzaan players