Yura Movsisyan (born 2 August 1987 in
BakuBaku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) is an
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n-
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
footballer who currently plays for the Armenian national football team and
KrasnodarFC Krasnodar is a Russian association football club from Krasnodar. In 2009 the club was promoted to the Russian First Division, the second highest division of the Russian football league system despite finishing Zone South of Second Division as 3rd. In 2009 club finished as 10th...
in the
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
. Yura Movsisyan is the cousin of former
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
player
Artur AghasyanArtur Aghasyan is an Armenian footballer currently playing for Los Angeles Blues in the USL Professional Division.-Armenia:...
.
Early life and college
Movsisyan was born 2 August 1987 in
BakuBaku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijani SSR. After few years his family moved to the US,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area with a large Armenian community. Movsisyan attended and played soccer at
Pasadena High School-History:The school was first established as a district school in 1884 and became Pasadena High School in 1891. In 1928, the school merged into Pasadena Junior College and operated as a four-year school, grades 11, 12, 13 and 14. Pasadena realigned its 6-4-4 school system in 1954 with Pasadena High...
, and played a year of
college soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at
Pasadena City CollegePasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
before being discovered by MLS scouts prior to the
2006 MLS SuperDraftThe 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to C.D. Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroStars for the fifth overall selection and Jason...
.
Professional
Movsisyan was signed to a
Generation AdidasGeneration adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by adidas, encourages early entry of American players into MLS...
contract and became the surprise of draft day, with the
Kansas City WizardsSporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
selecting him with the fourth overall pick, the highest in MLS history for a player who did not go to a Division I college program or was not a U.S. youth international.
On the 2007 trading deadline, Movsisyan was traded to
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
. Movsisyan was the player to score Real Salt Lake's first ever
MLS Cup PlayoffsThe MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer held at the end of the regular season en route to the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. 10 teams in total from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference qualify for the tournament based on regular-season...
goal when he scored the winner (and only goal) on 1 November 2008 at Rio Tinto Stadium, when the
UtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
side beat Chivas USA. Movsisyan signed a pre-contract with Danish club
Randers FCRanders FC is a Danish professional football team based in Randers, which plays in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. Founded as a merger on January 1, 2003, the club builds upon the license of Randers Freja, a former three-time Danish Cup winning team...
on 6 July 2009, with an agreement to join the club following the conclusion of the 2009 MLS season. Having helped
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
win their first ever
MLS CupThe MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...
championship that season, Movsisyan left the club and joined Randers on 1 January 2010.
In Randers FC, Yura replaced the past season topscorer
Marc NygaardMarc Stephen Griffith Nygaard is a Danish professional footballer who plays for Helmond Sport as a striker.-Club career:...
's position, from the first match of the spring season. In Denmark he established himself as a powerhouse, playing a major role in the saving of Randers FC from relegation from the
Danish SuperligaThe Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
. He was sold for €2.5 million to
FC KrasnodarFC Krasnodar is a Russian association football club from Krasnodar. In 2009 the club was promoted to the Russian First Division, the second highest division of the Russian football league system despite finishing Zone South of Second Division as 3rd. In 2009 club finished as 10th...
in Winter 2011. After fighting injury early in the season, Movsisyan has become a major producer on the team and has netted 7 goals.
International
Movsisyan originally stated that his goal was to gain American citizenship and join the
United States national teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
. However, on 9 August 2010, he joined the
Armenia national teamThe Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in Armenia...
and made his debut in a friendly against
IranThe national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...
on 11 August 2010. He was one of the most prolific strikers in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, netting in 4 goals and assisting in 5 others.
International goals
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: center;"
Club career stats
{|border=1 align=center cellpadding=4 cellspacing=2 style="background: ivory; font-size: 95%; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; clear:center"
|+
All-Time Club Performance
|- style="background:beige"
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="2"|Domestic League
!colspan="2"|Domestic Cup
!colspan="2"|Continental Competition
!colspan="2"|Friendly/Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|- style="background:beige"
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
|-
|rowspan="2" align=center valign=center|
Kansas City WizardsSporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
|align="center"|2006
|align="center"|10
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!10
!0
|-
|align="center"|
2007The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in league history. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.....
|align="center"|18
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!18
!5
|-
|- style="background:lemonchiffon"
! Total !!!! 28 !! 5 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 28 !! 5
|-
|rowspan="3" align=center valign=center|
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
|align="center"|
2007The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in league history. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.....
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!5
!0
|-
|align="center"|
2008The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season in league history. The season began on March 29 and ended with MLS Cup 2008, on November 23 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.-Changes from the 2007 season:...
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!25
!8
|-
|align="center"|
2009The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
|align="center"|26
|align="center"|8
|align="center"|4
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!30
!8
|-
|- style="background:lemonchiffon"
! Total !!!! 53 !! 15 !! 7 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 60 !! 16
|-
|rowspan="2" align=center valign=center|
Randers FCRanders FC is a Danish professional football team based in Randers, which plays in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. Founded as a merger on January 1, 2003, the club builds upon the license of Randers Freja, a former three-time Danish Cup winning team...
|align="center"|
2009–10The 2009–10 Danish Superliga season was the 20th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, which determinates the winners of the Danish football championship. It is governed by the Danish Football Association. The tournament started on 18 July 2009 and concluded on 16 May 2010.The Danish...
|align="center"|13
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
!13
!7
|-
|align="center"|
2010–11The 2010–11 Danish Superliga season was the 21st season of the Danish Superliga championship, which decides the Danish football championship. It began on 17 July 2010 with the previous season's silver medalists from Odense facing Esbjerg and ended on 29 May 2011 with six simultaneous matches. F.C...
|align="center"|17
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|4
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|0
!26
!14
|-
|- style="backgraund:lemonchiffon"
! Total !!!! 30 !! 12 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 5 !! 1 !! 0 !! 39 !! 21
|-
|rowspan="1" align=center valign=center|
FC KrasnodarFC Krasnodar is a Russian association football club from Krasnodar. In 2009 the club was promoted to the Russian First Division, the second highest division of the Russian football league system despite finishing Zone South of Second Division as 3rd. In 2009 club finished as 10th...
|align="center"|2011–12
|align="center"|26
|align="center"|8
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
!28
!10
|-
|- style="background:lemonchiffon"
! Total !!!! 26 !! 8 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 1 !! 2 !! 28 !! 10
|-
! style="background:beige"|Career Totals
! style="background:beige" colspan="1" |
! style="background:beige"| 137
! style="background:beige"| 40
! style="background:beige"| 11
! style="background:beige"| 5
! style="background:beige"| 5
! style="background:beige"| 5
! style="background:beige"| 2
! style="background:beige"| 2
! style="background:beige"| 155
! style="background:beige"| 52
|-
|}
Honors
Real Salt Lake
- Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
MLS Cup (1): 2009The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
External links