5th Armenian in MLS
Columbus Crew playmaker Lucas Zelarayán has accepted a call-up to the Armenian national team. Born in Argentina, the 29-year-old has Armenian heritage through his father. The Armenian Football Federation has been interested in the midfielder for some time but Zelarayán has been harbouring hopes to play for Argentina instead.
“Realistically, I know I don’t have much of a chance to make the Argentina national team,” Zelarayán said in an interview with MLSSoccer.com. “This is a great opportunity to play World Cup qualifiers in UEFA, going up against great players I haven’t had the chance to play. That’ll just benefit me in the long run.”
SURPRISE SURPRISE@Lucazelarayan31 has something to tell you
“Barev, Hayastan
You’ll see me playing for Armenian National team soon.
I hope we will achieve great success together.
See ya#Zelarayan #Armenia #ArmenianNT pic.twitter.com/G9dUO3zeYi— Official Armenian FF (@OfficialArmFF) September 28, 2021
Armenia are second in Group J behind four-times World Cup winners Germany. The Caucasus nation will be playing Iceland (Oct. 8) and Romania (Oct. 11) in the upcoming UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Zelarayán told MLSSoccer.com that he has not yet been to Armenia. That will not be the case until November when Armenia hosts first North Macedonia (Nov. 11) and then Germany (Nov. 14). (Overview)
Zelarayán: 2nd most valuable Armenian behind Mkhitaryan – 5th Armenian in MLS
Either way, the 29-year-old will instantly become a key player for the Havak’akan. With a market value of $11million, the Crew playmaker ranks just behind Roma star Henrikh Mkhitaryan ($16.5m) as the second most valuable player in Armenia’s national team squad. Furthermore, Zelarayán becomes just the fifth Armenian playing in MLS and—once capped—the fourth to play for the country’s senior team—the previous three were Yura Movsisyan, Harut Karapetyan and David Arshakyan.
