Few coaches would sign an Armenian to replace a star who defects to their arch rivals. Jürgen Klopp did just that though, and they called him crazy. But time has proved him right. Götze left and Mkhitaryan was brought in, a player who is talent personified and with an interesting background.
He came to Dortmund from Shakhtar Donest, with a limited but, at the same time, enviable résumé. He has won seven consecutive league titles, four with the Armenian club, Pjunik Yerevan, and three with the Ukrainian side.
A winner that Klopp spotted during last season's final sixteen. He was enchanted by his ability to be a dangerman within the opposition's defensive lines and his game vision - a Götze. And that was the very reason it was his name that came to mind on learning his star was leaving for Bayern.
Mkhitaryan is 24 and is more than a football player. He is an inquisitive, intelligent lad. He speaks five languages - Armenian, English, French, Portuguese and Russian - and is about to graduate in Economics from the University of St. Petersburg. "If you stop learning, you stop living", is his motto in life, which has been marked by the death of his father.
His father was also a footballer and was playing for Valence when, at the age of 33, he died of a brain tumour. Mthikaryan was 7 at the time and returned to Armenia with his mother, having lost his desire to play.
Over the years, however, he regained his passion for football. At 14, he went for some trials in Sao Paulo and spent four months in Brazil before returning to Europe.
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