# Vardan Ghazaryan

Vardan Martun Ghazaryan (Armenian: Վարդան Մարտուն Ղազարյան; Arabic: وارطان مارتون غازاريان; born 1 December 1969) 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 second-highest all-time scorer in the Lebanese Premier League, scoring 117 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 (four in World Cup qualifiers, three in Asian Cup qualifiers and 14 in friendlies). 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

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Lebanon | 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| Lebanon | 1996 | 14 | 11 |
| Lebanon | 1997 | 15 | 3 |
| Lebanon | 1998 | 15 | 1 |
| Lebanon | 1999 | 6 | 1 |
| Lebanon | 2000 | 9 | 1 |
| Lebanon | 2001 | 6 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 66 | 21 |
    Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ghazaryan goal.
List of international goals scored by Vardan Ghazaryan :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 16 January 1996 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Cyprus | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 11 February 1996 | Bourj Hammoud Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Ecuador | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 26 May 1996 | Köpetdag Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 4 | 9 June 1996 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Kuwait | 2–0 | 3–5 | 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 5 | 9 June 1996 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Kuwait | 3–3 | 3–5 | 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 6 | 5 September 1996 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Oman | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 8 September 1996 | Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Oman | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 8 September 1996 | Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Oman | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 9 October 1996 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | New Zealand | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 5 December 1996 | Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Georgia | 1–2 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 11 | 8 December 1996 | Beirut Municipal Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Georgia | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 12 | 12 January 1997 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Algeria | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 13 | 19 March 1997 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 14 | 27 April 1997 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | Libya | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 17 October 1998 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Syria | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1998 Friendship Tournament |
| 16 | 16 August 1999 | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan | Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1999 Pan Arab Games |
| 17 | 23 February 2000 | International Olympic Stadium, Tripoli, Lebanon | Jordan | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 18 | 26 May 2001 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Pakistan | 2–0 | 8–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 26 May 2001 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Pakistan | 6–1 | 8–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20 | 28 May 2001 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Sri Lanka | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 21 | 30 May 2001 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Thailand | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |

## Honours
### Player

Syunik Kapan
* Armenian SSR League: 1991
Homenetmen
* Lebanese Second Division: 2002–03
Individual
* IFFHS All-time Lebanon Men's Dream Team
* AFC Player of the Month: January 1996
* Lebanese Premier League Best Player: 1996–97
* Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season: 1996–97, 1999–2000