Henrikh Mkhitaryan Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts

LifeBogger presents the Full Story of a Football Genius who is best known by the Nickname; ‘Micki’.

Our version of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Biography Facts, including his Childhood Story, brings to you a full account of notable events from his childhood time to date.

The analysis of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Biography involves his life story before fame, family life and many OFF and ON-Pitch little-known facts about him.

Yes, everyone knows about Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s advanced playmaking and assist abilities, but few consider his life outside the pitch, which is quite interesting. Now, without further ado, let us begin.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:

The Childhood Life of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Childhood Life of Henrikh Mkhitaryan as he looks so adorable in his boyhood years.

For Biography starters, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was born on the 21st of January, 1989, in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, to parents- late former footballer Hamlet Mkhitaryan (father) and Marina Taschyan (mother).

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Relationship with His Father:

In 1989, when he was just a few months old, his family moved to France because of some conflicts that were brewing in Armenia. His father played for five years for Valence in France’s second division.

According to Henrikh ..“When I was 4, I’d always cry when my dad would leave for club training. Every morning I’d say, ‘Dad, take me with you. Please, please take me with you!’

At that age, I didn’t really care about football yet; I just wanted to be with my father.

But he didn’t want to be distracted during training by worrying about me running off, so he came up with a clever plan to fool me. One morning, I said, ‘Dad, take me to train.’

He said, ‘No, no. There’s no training today, Henrikh. I’m going to the supermarket.

I’ll be right back.’ He escaped to training, and I waited … and waited. He came back home after a few hours. No grocery bags. I lost it and then started crying.

‘You lied to me! Dad, you didn’t go to the supermarket! You went to play football!’

His dad made up for this by taking little Henrikh out to watch snow activities, which he loved as a kid.

When he was alive, Hamlet Mkhitaryan shared a special bond with his son, Henrikh.
When he was alive, Hamlet Mkhitaryan shared a special bond with his son, Henrikh.

Also, from that day onwards, Hamlet started taking his son to the training ground. Henrikh soon developed a love for football and began following his father’s footsteps as he watched him train.  

I always wanted to become a footballer, and I thank my parents, who helped me so much to realise this dream.”

Though his parents wanted football for him, they also insisted education must be a must for their child.

Miki learnt how to combine both education and football in the best possible way. He grew up to be a young, bright boy.

He has maintained his great smile since childhood.
He has maintained his great smile since childhood.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Biography – Rising to Fame Story:

He learnt football from his father, Hamlet, who was a prominent striker during his time in the 1908s.

Unfortunately, the early death of his father impacted him greatly (Details of his death discussed later in the article).

Henrikh feels that if his father was still alive, “everything would be different.” 

In his words, “The year after my father died, I started football training. He was the drive for me; he was my idol. I said to myself, I have to run just like him. I have to shoot just like him.”

Young Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in his early career years.
Young Henrikh Mkhitaryan, in his early career years.

Henrikh’s late dad (Hamlet) gave him useful advice from a professional point of view before he died. He could only enjoy his dad for seven years. His dad died when he was only 7.

People who have watched Mkhitaryan and his father say that their styles resemble each other very much. Miki once said, “I believe he sees me and is proud of me…”

Upon returning to Yerevan from France, Henrikh already knew what career he wanted to pursue.

Mkhitaryan joined Yerevan’s biggest club, FC Pyunik, in 1995. He then saw himself developing into one of the country’s most talented players.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Family Life:

His entire family have a grounding in professional football. While he and his father succeeded on the field, the women in his family have made their living off it. Now let us talk about them;

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Father:

Hamlet Mkhitaryan, the father of Henrikh, was once a respected and prominent striker of FC Ararat Yerevan during the 1980s.

 He was a small but very quick striker. Soviet Soldier magazine once honoured him with the “Knight of Attack” award in 1984.

This is Hamlet Mkhitaryan in his playing days.
This is Hamlet Mkhitaryan in his playing days.

He and his family once lived in the Kentron District of Yerevan, which is near Amenia’s Hrazdan Stadium.

Those who saw both Hamlet and Henrikh play say that their styles resemble each other very much. Unfortunately, Hamlet died of a brain tumour at age 33 when Henrikh was seven years old.

This is a narrative from Henrikh on his father’s death.

“My time with my father would be very meaningful but also very short. When I was six years old, my parents told me that we were moving back home to Armenia. I didn’t really understand what was happening.

My father had stopped playing football, and he was at home all the time. I didn’t know it, but my father had a brain tumour. Everything happened very fast. Within a year, he was gone.

Because I was so young, I didn’t completely understand the concept of death. I remember seeing my mother and older sister always crying, and I would ask them, “Where is my father?” No one could explain what was going on.

 Day by day, they started to tell to me what had happened. I remember my mother saying, ‘Henrikh, he will never be with us.And I thought, Never? Never is such a long time when you are seven years old.

He continued…

 I had a lot of videotapes of him playing in France, and I would watch them very often to remember him.

Two, or three times a week, I would watch his matches, and it would give me a lot of happiness, especially when the camera showed him when he was celebrating a goal or hugging his teammates.

 On those videotapes, my father lived on. said Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Mother:

His mother, Marina Taschyan, took the role of both father and mother after Henrikh lost his dad.

An old photo of Henrikh Mkhitaryan's Mum, himself and his sibling.
An old photo of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Mum, himself and his sibling.

According to him..“It was very difficult because my mother had to be both a mother and a father to me.

It’s very hard for a mother to do this in society. She had to stick up for me, and also sometimes be hard on me like a father would be.

I had days when I was coming home from training saying, ‘Ah, it’s so hard. I want to quit.’

And my mother would say, ‘You don’t quit. You have to keep working, and it will get better tomorrow.‘ 

After my father’s death, my mother had to take a job to support our family. So, she started working for the Armenian Football Federation.

Marina Taschyan is to date, the overall head of the national teams’ department in the Armenian Football Federation.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan once shared a photo of his mother with his mother on Twitter to celebrate his mother’s birthday. In the post, he said,

“Mommy’s love is like nothing in the world; happy birthday, mother”. Most of her followers did not think she was his mother. This is because she looked so young.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Sister:

His sister works at UEFA Headquarters at the time of writing this Biography. She likes to earn a living herself.

Thou Miki sometimes assists her financially, which she objects to most times. In an interview,

he told her in his words…” there isn’t such thing as ‘yours and mine’. We are a family, and everything we earn is ours”.

Micki and Monika shared happy childhood memories together. Both of them look very cute, as seen in the picture below.

Young Henrikh (left) and Monika (right)
Young Henrikh (left) and Monika (right)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Love Life:

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the man any girl would love to marry… Although, girls, do not hurry to lean on him – Henrikh just has no time for them! Neither now nor in the near future.

Mkhitaryan (at the time of writing his Bio) is focused on his career and is single. He has no intention of falling in love with anyone until he reaches the absolute maximum age of 30, he once said.

Thou he has been spotted with numerous girlfriends. We bet you are surprised he doesn’t have a wife.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Untold Biography Facts – A Chess Master:

When compared to most footballers on the planet, Mkhitaryan is said to be distinctive. He has a superior cognitive ability. His intelligence in the pitch of play is linked to his chess skill.

In other words, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s love for chess correlates with a measure of his intelligence. It’s a little wonder he has once proved his fans with a scorpion kick.

Mkhitaryan stands out for his cognitive prowess on the field, attributed to his chess skills. His intelligence, evident in moments like his scorpion kick, is linked to his love for chess.
Mkhitaryan stands out for his cognitive prowess on the field, which is attributed to his chess skills. His intelligence, evident in moments like his scorpion kick, is linked to his love for chess.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Biography Facts – His Idols:

Somewhat unsurprisingly for an attacking midfielder who grew up in France, Mkhitaryan’s footballing idol is former Real Madrid CF and French World Cup-winning midfielder Zinedine Zidane.

According to Micki…“By the time I was 10 years old, my entire life was football. Training, reading, watching, even playing football on PlayStation. I was totally focused on it.

Again, I especially loved the creative players — the maestros. I always wanted to play like Zidane and Hamlet. I really appreciated Zidane’s style of play and what he did on the pitch.

He was like a magician to me. My midfield style of play relates more to Zidane while my attack-minded approach relates more to my late dad.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Education:

 The Mkhitaryan family returned to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, from France in 1995. In the same year, Mkhitaryan enrolled with the Institute of Physical Culture in Armenia.

He graduated from their diploma programme and went on direct entry to study economics at the Yerevan branch of the St. Petersburg Institute.

Upon graduation, Miki also developed plans to pursue another degree in law. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen as the need for him to take professional football more seriously came calling.

This period marked a big push in his career dreams. He left his boyhood club FC Pyunik (located in Armenia), and travelled to Ukraine to play for Football Club Metalurh Donetsk, who gave him a lucrative offer, which he accepted.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Biography Facts – Spending Nights at Club’s Training Ground:

Mkhitaryan was known for not always living in his own apartment but spending some of his nights at his club’s training ground. He has done that for all clubs he’s played for.

Speaking to the Armenian newspaper Panorama, in February 2017, he said, “Since I’ve become something of an idol and many look up to me, I prefer to just concentrate on my football so I can impress them.

Even though it means spending nights at training ground resting houses. For all clubs I’ve played, I observed my teammates do teases me when they observed this behaviour from me. They even nicknamed me President [of the training ground].” 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Bio – Origin of His Nickname:

Mkhitaryan has been nicknamed Heno’ by his fans in Armenia. He embraced the name, which is the short form of his first name, ‘Henrikh’. However, he is known in Europe as Micki.

The footballer revealed in an interview that the nickname Micki came from former Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp. Jurgen decided to give him that nickname after observing his surname, ‘Mkhitaryan’ was too long to pronounce.

Mkhitaryan responded that it was ok to use that nickname. Final approval of the nickname came when his nickname was observed on his verified Instagram account, whose username imicki_taryan.

Once Played for Sao Paulo:

In 2003, Mkhitaryan, aged 14, had trials with São Paulo in Brazil, which was successful. He played for the club’s junior team. This team had the likes of Oscar dos Santos Emboaba and Hernanes.

He played alongside them. His stay at the club was short-lived. Henrikh Mkhitaryan returned to Pyunik, his local Armenia club, in 2004. It was his then-manager, Mihai Stoichiță who insisted on his return to Armenia.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Facts – A Polyglot:

Mkhitaryan is a confirmed polyglot. He possesses the ability to speak a total of seven languages. These languages include his local Armenian, French, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, English, and German.

Miki attributes his knowledge of Russian to his maternal grandmother, who is of Russian ethnicity.

He learned the first three languages (Armenian, French and Portuguese) in his childhood, while in the latter four, he picked up playing for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and Manchester United in England.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Award and Charity:

In 2012, by the decision of the Yerevan City Council, and in connection with the city’s 2794th anniversary, Mkhitaryan was awarded the “Honorary Citizen of Yerevan” title, for his great success in football and his brilliant achievements in sports. Note: Yerevan is the capital of Armenia.

Mkhitaryan is also known in his homeland to be a charitable person. During football holidays, he finds time to visit disputed territories of the former Soviet Union to donate gifts to the families of fallen soldiers. His charity has earned him the award of ‘NKR Medal’. 

NKR means (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). This is a national medal given by the NKR Prime Minister. It is given to people who are considered national heroes.

Leading The Armenian National Team:

Mkhitaryan is Armenia’s all-time top goalscorer, scoring 22 goals in 64 international matches since his debut in January 2007.

Mkhitaryan has been chosen Armenian Footballer of the Year seven times (every year since 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016). He has led the team throughout most of these years as captain.

In 2012, he was voted as the best Shakhtar player of the 2011–12 season by the fans. That same year, he was also named Ukrainian Premier League Footballer of the Year.

Also, in 2012, Mkhitaryan was named in UEFA’s Top 100 players by UEFA European Football Yearbook 2012–13.

Again, he was voted the Commonwealth of Independent States Footballer of the Year for 2012, making him the first Armenian footballer to be named the best player from post-Soviet countries. He received the award again in 2013.

Future Plans:

Still young, Mkhitaryan nevertheless insists that he has no plans to continue working in football once he has retired. “I don’t see myself becoming a coach, that isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t want my hair turning grey that quickly!”

Instead, life after football will likely be business-oriented for Mkhitaryan, who has a diploma from the Institute of Physical Culture in Armenia and also a degree in Economics from the St Petersburg Institute.

He almost joined Liverpool in 2013:

In the summer of 2013, the then-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers once made Mkhitaryan his top transfer target.

Back then, he was the leading goal scorer in Ukraine’s top flight the previous season, scoring 25 goals in 29 league games for Shakhtar Donetsk.

With the deal almost done and reports of him flying to Anfield for medical making headlines, the unfortunate followed. Liverpool fan’s excitement was cut short.

The deal to sign their midfield prospect who would light up Anfield was highjacked by former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp.

Jurgen made an offer he couldn’t refuse, and he chose Signal Iduna Park as his future home rather than Anfield.

Thou Mkhitaryan insisted that it was not money, but the brand of football Dortmund played that made him accept Klopp’s offer.

Once stayed in a Hotel with Jose Mourinho:

Mkhitaryan, upon his arrival at Manchester United, stayed in the prestigious Lowry Hotel for a year. His staying there was motivated by Jose Mourinho, who lived there with his family at the same time. At that time, both parties were new to living in the city.

The idea of staying in a hotel before buying or renting a house in Manchester is a normal choice for rich people who come to the great city to work.

According to Micky, “Jose said he didn’t really know much about the city itself before he came here. He advised me to stay in the hotel where he lodged.”

Mkhitaryan stayed at the Lowry Hotel upon joining Manchester United, influenced by Mourinho, who also lived there.
Mkhitaryan stayed at the Lowry Hotel upon joining Manchester United, influenced by Mourinho, who also lived there.

Both Mourinho and Mkhitaryan have now gotten permanent residence in the northwest of Manchester.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Facts – Q and As:

– Have any curious or funny things happened to you since your move to Manchester United? Maybe some unusual calls and stuff?
‘Yes, I receive a lot of calls… from strangers.’

– And what do they want?
They all want Money!’

– What do you tell them?
I refuse them. How can I give money to strangers or just borrow it? I will never get it back.

– Are you a fatalist, Do you believe in fate?
‘Yes, of course. The date of birth determined my fate. Just as anyone else’s, indeed. Life is a book, and we are actors who play according to what is written. I also believe in zodiac signs. I am Aquarius.’

Hi there! I am Hale Hendrix, a passionate football enthusiast and writer dedicated to uncovering the untold stories of footballers' childhood and biography. With a deep love for the beautiful game, I have spent countless hours researching and interviewing players to bring to light the lesser-known details of their lives.

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