Vardan Ghazaryan


Vardan Martun Ghazaryan is a football coach and former player.
Born in Armenia, Ghazaryan moved to Lebanon and obtained citizenship through naturalisation in 1994. He played for Homenetmen and Sagesse as a striker, and represented Lebanon internationally from 1995 until 2001.
Ghazaryan is the all-time scorer in the Lebanese Premier League, scoring 129 official league goals. He is also the second-highest scorer for the national team with 21 goals, after having been surpassed by Hassan Maatouk in 2023. Ghazaryan was appointed manager of Tripoli in 2017 for one year. He returned to Sagesse as head coach in 2021.

Club career

Ghazaryan started his senior career in 1989 in Armenia, at Spartak Hoktemberyan, before moving to Kapan in 1990. In 1992 he moved to Lebanon, joining Homenetmen Beirut. He stayed there for seven years, before moving to Sagesse in 1999. He spent three years there, before moving back to Homenetmen in 2002. Ghazaryan then joined Sagesse once again, in 2005, before retiring in 2009 aged 39.
His first goal in the Lebanese Premier League came on 23 January 1993, when he scored the second goal for Homenetmen against Tadamon Sour in the 54th minute. Ghazaryan was named AFC Player of the Month for January 1996.
On 16 November 2008, at 39 years old, Ghazaryan scored his 129th goal in the Lebanese Premier League against Tadamon Sour, becoming the highest all-time scorer in the league. However, some do not recognise the 12 goals he scored in the 2000–01 season, which was canceled, making him the second-highest top-goalscorer with 117 goals, behind Fadi Alloush's total of 120.

International career

Having moved to Lebanon from Armenia, Ghazaryan obtained Lebanese citizenship through naturalisation in 1994. He was the top goalscorer in the history of the Lebanon national team, with 21 goals. In 2023, Ghazaryan was surpassed by Hassan Maatouk.

Managerial career

In 2009, Ghazaryan returned to his native Armenia where he trained an Armenian club; he moved back to Lebanon four years later. Ghazaryan became the assistant coach for Tripoli, before being appointed head coach in 2017.
In July 2021, ahead of the 2021 Lebanese Challenge Cup, Ghazaryan was appointed head coach of Lebanese Premier League side Sagesse, for whom he had already played as a player.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–01–0Friendly
2Bourj Hammoud Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–01–0Friendly
3Köpetdag Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan1–01–01996 AFC Asian Cup qualification
4Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon2–03–51996 AFC Asian Cup qualification
5Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon3–33–51996 AFC Asian Cup qualification
6Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–01–2Friendly
7Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–12–1Friendly
8Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon2–12–1Friendly
9Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–01–1Friendly
10Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–24–2Friendly
11Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon3–23–2Friendly
12Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–12–2Friendly
13Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–21–2Friendly
14Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon2–02–0Friendly
15Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–03–31998 Friendship Tournament
16Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan1–01–21999 Pan Arab Games
17International Olympic Stadium, Tripoli, Lebanon1–01–1Friendly
18Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand2–08–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
19Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand6–18–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
20Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–05–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
21Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–02–22002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Player

Syunik Kapan
Homenetmen
Individual
Records
  • Most goals in Lebanese Premier League history: 129 goals