Henrik Mkhitaryan: I want to start a family." (photos)

On Sunday, February 10, Henrikh Mkhitaryan presented the January issue of Shakhtar magazine to fans.

The meeting took place in the Shakhtar branded shop on the second floor of the TRC Donetsk City. Here, long before the player’s arrival, simply a stunning queue lined up for his autograph - it seemed that it reached at least one floor above. The explanation is simple: not only were the Donetsk fans missing their favourites, but they were also looking forward to meeting with one of the most popular Shakhtar players.

Naturally, today, the main fans' attribute was the latest issue of the magazine. Someone bought a new copy of the publication in the shop, others came with it as, for example, a 10-year-old Arsen. The boy was a real expert in football and immediately demonstrated his knowledge after easily despatching all the tasks on the Orange Laces page - a new children's section. After seeing that Henrikh was approaching, he began loudly chanting "Mkhitaryan! Mkhitaryan! "

Accompanied by thunderous applause, the footballer took his place, greeted fans and immediately began to answer the questions, most of which concerned Shakhtar’s upcoming match in the Champions League.

- Will you beat Borussia?
- We will play to win only!

- What opponents would you like to see in the quarter-finals of the Champions League?
- First, we need to overcome Borussia, and then we will think about other opponents.

- What would you do if you had to make a choice, Shakhtar will win the Champions League only when you join Dynamo Kyiv?
- This is impossible, I think.

- How many goals will you score against Borussia?
- I will try to score as many goals as I can. But the most important thing is to win. If we win, it will be much more important than an amount of goals scored.

- On January 21, you marked a birthday. What was the best gift you received?
- Congratulations from my friends and family.

- Up to what year are you going to play for Shakhtar?
- I have a contract until 2015; I'm going to play for Shakhtar until it expires. And then we will see.

- Did you watch the match between Borussia and Hamburg?
- No, because at that time we had training. But Mister will tell us everything about this match.

- Have you ever failed to score into an empty net?
- More often than managed to score! (Laughing.)

- Will you play against Ararat if the CIS championship begins?
- Will Ararat take part in it? If so, it would be nice to play with them.

- How many more goals are you going to score in the championship?
- There are 12 rounds left, I need to score even more than I have already done and help the team win the Ukrainian championship.

- Are you planning to win the Golden Boot award?
- I will try to score a lot of goals to win this trophy. But you know that Lionel Messi has already netted 34 goals, it will be very difficult. But still I will try to score as often as possible.

- When did you realize that you would become a footballer?
- At 7, I began to make my first football steps. Since then I realized that I could play football, be a professional.

- What is your attitude towards a joint CIS championship?
- I'm not the one who decides whether this championship will or won’t be. But if so, then, of course, I will play there, because it's a very interesting championship involving Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and other countries.

- What is your favourite team besides Shakhtar?
- Now I am playing for Shakhtar – they are my favourite team!

- Are you keeping in touch with your former team-mates from Metalurh?
- Yes, I am keeping in touch not only with the players, but also with the management. I have especially close relationships with the Armenian footballers, because we're playing with them for the national team, we played together at youth level.

- What is your favourite place in Donetsk?
- In addition to the base I like the city centre. For example, Pushkin Boulevard, where you can walk, spend time with friends.

- How are the club newcomers – Grechishkin and Sobol – feeling in the team?
- We want to help them adapt to the team, join the family. The quicker they adapt, the sooner they will thrive and help Shakhtar. They are very good guys.

- Are you planning to start a family?
- I'd love to. If I have time, I will. The most important thing is to find the right girl who will be faithful to me during the whole life.

One of the main questions that fans were interested in was where a wonderful snowman, who sits on Henrikh’s shoulder on the main photo of the January issue of Shakhtar magazine, came from. The answer to this was quite simple: this toy was just in the studio and was used as an excellent requisite at the right time.

After the public interest was satisfied in full, the Pitmen’s fans had an opportunity to take pictures with Mkhitaryan as well as taking his autograph. In addition, anyone could capture themselves even with three trophies, which Shakhtar have already won in 2013: Matchworld Cup, Champions Super Cup and Copa del Sol.

The first person, who managed to complete an honourable mission, was a long-time fan Evgenia Zhivitskaya:

- I have been supporting Shakhtar for 48 years, since 18! I took an autograph specifically for my husband - he's younger than me by 16 years. He is a wheelchair user, and I took him to all the games that used to be held at the Shakhtar stadium. I attended the games too. My husband and I love football; it is our passion! I wish you could see how he prepares for every game!

Meanwhile, not only did Henrikh sign autographs, but also received nice gifts from the fans, especially female supporters. For example, a homemade key chain with the flags of many countries, a lot of which he is yet to visit. And Arina Belodedova presented his favourite footballer a handmade mug. The girl said that all the pictures on it were made using lacquer, so that the product will last a long time! Many of the gifts and notes remained secret to the public eye, and Henrikh promised to check out their contents at the base.

Along with the journalists Henrikh’s meeting with fans was covered by a 17-year-old Anastasia Postilnyak. The thing is that she is the administrator of the largest group dedicated to Mkhitaryan in the social network VKontakte, and, of course, she could not miss the opportunity to meet her idol. By the way, she invited all the Shakhtar fans to join this community.

There were so many people who gathered to talk with the Armenian midfielder that the player was signing the last autographs on the way to his car - one cannot be late for training in any case! Henrikh shared his impressions of the meeting with the fans while literally being on the move:

- It's nice that so many people have gathered. I have managed to talk to many supporters, a lot of pictures have been taken. It is important for me to get a boost of energy on the eve of an important match in the Champions League. I have been missing our fans a lot. The last time we met in the informal atmosphere was in the autumn.

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