Who are Noah Yerevan, the 8-year-old Armenian club set to meet Aberdeen in Conference League?

An expert says Aberdeen will be well-matched by Conference League rivals Noah Yerevan, as he gave us the lowdown on the Armenian Premier League champions.

The Dons will meet an Armenian side for the first time ever when they visit Pittodrie on Thursday.

Jimmy Thelin’s men are off the bottom of the Conference League standings (sitting 33rd of 36) following their 0-0 draw with AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, a result which followed a home defeat to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk and then a 6-0 thumping at AEK Athens.

However, their latest opponents Noah are 17th after an impressive opening round 1-0 win over familiar Reds Euro foes Rijeka and 1-1 draw with Romania’s Universitatea Craiova. They then lost to another side known to Aberdeen, Czechia’s Sigma Olomouc, last time out.

It is Noah’s second consecutive campaign in the Conference League league phase (they lost 8-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last year).

Noah got to the second round of Champions League qualifying this term, but missed out to Hungary’s Ferencvaros 6-4 on aggregate, before losing in the third round of Europa League qualifying to Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps (1-1 agg, then 6-5 penalties defeat).

But Conference League qualification was secured when they came through a play-off tie with Slovenia’s Olimpija Ljubljana, who they beat 7-3 over the two legs.

For more detail on Noah – a club who are just EIGHT years old – The Press and Journal spoke to Vahe Hakobyan, a 31-year-old Armenian football journalist who runs Sportaran.com.

Vahe answered our key questions on this week’s visitors to Aberdeen:

Could you give us a rundown on remarkably-young club Noah Yerevan’s history and some background on Armenian football generally?

Vahe: Noah Yerevan were founded in 2017 under the name Artsakh Yerevan.

Since then, the club has changed ownership twice and also changed its name.

Despite this relatively short history, Noah already have three major trophies — two Armenian Cups and one league title (last season).

The club’s new owner, Vardges Vardanyan, took over in early 2024, and positive changes followed very quickly – both in terms of internal organisation and on-field results.

He is investing heavily in infrastructure and aims to build a long-term project, while also strengthening the current squad to achieve results right away.

In general, Armenian clubs face structural problems – there is no state support and clubs must survive on their own. Revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships is very limited.

Clubs usually exist only as long as the owner is able to finance them, which is why long-lasting clubs are rare.

But things are slowly improving – clubs have begun planning more for the future, and some are now earning money through player transfers.

Who are Noah’s most important players?

V: The starting XI includes several strong leaders, but the squad depth is not as strong, and some positions lack competition.

Currently, the main leaders are Helder Ferreira (a Portuguese, ex-Pacos Ferreira winger), (Dutch midfielder) Imran Oulad Omar, (Armenia centre-half) Sergei Muradian, (Cameroonian former Sevilla and Granada midfielder) Yan Eteki and (Burkina Faso international midfielder) Gustavo Sangare.

Noah have a broad mix of nationalities in their squad – with players from across Africa (Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso etc.), the Caribbean (Guadelope) and the Far East (Japan). Why is Noah Yerevan’s squad so diverse?

V: The squad is so multinational because Noah Yerevan have not had their own academy for long, and therefore lack homegrown Armenian players.

It is also extremely difficult to attract Armenian players from other clubs – because of the league’s foreign-player limit (Armenian Premier League rules require teams to have three Armenian players on the pitch at all times, and to have at least nine registered in their squad).

Armenian players simply cannot be bought freely as in other leagues. As a result, positions of need are often filled by foreign signings.

Successful Portuguese manager Rui Mota left Noah at the end of last term’s double-winning season, didn’t he?

V: Rui Mota left because he received a lucrative offer from Ludogorets (of Bulgaria), who also paid his release clause.

Noah did not want to let him go and even offered a salary increase, but the Portuguese coach wanted to move to a more prestigious club.

With new Croatian boss Sandro Perkovic appointed, what has he changed about the team/tactics?

V: Sandro Perkovic has significantly changed the team’s playing style.

Noah now play more directly, often using crosses – however, the current squad is not yet fully suited to this tactical shift.

The new coach will likely need another transfer window to build the team fully in his image.

Reigning champions Noah look to have had a slow start in the Armenian Premier League this season, with points dropped against main title rivals Alashkert, Ararat-Armenian and Urartu?

V: Noah started worse than expected. The team have struggled to compete on two fronts due to injuries to key players – for example, at one point, all the left wingers were injured.

It should also be said Alashkert and Ararat-Armenia are playing very well this season and have also improved significantly.

Winning the championship will be more difficult (for Noah) this year.

How would you assess Noah’s European campaign so far? And will Noah consider themselves favourites or underdogs against Aberdeen?

V: I would say the European campaign has been in line with expectations. It is certainly not below expectations.

After the win against Rijeka, people started expecting more points, but collecting four points from the first three matches is completely realistic for the team’s current level.

Armenian clubs and the Armenian national team traditionally perform well against British and Irish teams, so I expect at least a draw away from home (v Aberdeen).

However, it will be a very difficult match – Scottish fans support their teams incredibly well at home.

If all of Noah’s key players are fit, I think it will be a very interesting and balanced game in which either side could win.

[Source: Press and Journal]