The excitement in Yura Movsisyan’s voice was substantial. Despite a lengthy travel schedule over the weekend that saw him fly from Los Angeles to Moscow and back in order to sign all of the paperwork needed to complete his loan from Spartak Moscow to Real Salt Lake, the 28-year-old forward could hardly contain himself. With his smile permeating through the phone lines, Movsisyan joined ESPN 700 On Frame on Monday night and talked about making his long-awaited return to Rio Tinto Stadium.
“I can’t wait to get back to Salt Lake. It’s something I’ve wanted for many years and it’s finally come true,” he said. “I became Yura Movsisyan at Salt Lake. But winning the championship, I can’t take credit for it. I don’t feel like I had a big part in it. Personally, I don’t. Now, I want to do that. I want to have a big part in winning a championship.”
His reasons are myriad and start with the comfort of his family. However, Movsisyan, who will meet with the media for the first time on Tuesday, has reasons well beyond just comfort that drove him to return to Rio Tinto Stadium.
In his last game with RSL, the club lifted the MLS Cup in Seattle after a shootout victory over the LA Galaxy. That is something he wants to do again for a city and club that he grew to love during his three seasons in the Claret-and-Cobalt.
“As all my friends know, I’m a family person. Salt Lake was family to me. It was such a great environment,” he said. “Now at this point in the prime of my career, I want to be somewhere I will feel comfortable. I want to feel at home. I want to feel like when I win something that it actually means something to me and it’s not just work. I get pleasure out of it. This is one of the biggest reasons why I want to come back to Salt Lake. Because I know what it meant to win a championship in Salt Lake and I want to do that again.”
Since departing RSL after the 2009 season, Movsisyan has gone on to great success in Denmark and Russia, was well as with the Armenian National Team. With Randers in Denmark, he scored 12 goals in 30 matches before moving to Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League. There, he scored 23 goals in 50 matches to earn a transfer to Spartak Moscow. With one of the biggest clubs in the country, Movsisyan scored a hat trick in his debut and went on the net 25 goals in 62 matches.
With all of that experience under his belt, he returns to MLS with sights set on scoring goals for RSL.
“I know – I’m confident in myself and my abilities – that I can score goals. It doesn’t matter what environment I’m in. Can you guys imagine if it’s a city that I love, which is Salt Lake, and I’m comfortable there and my family is happy there and my kids are happy there?” he said. “I’m just going to have a blast and we are going to enjoy it as a team.”
In 2009, RSL was in its first season at Rio Tinto Stadium. Now with season ticket holders at an all-time high and the club regularly enjoying one of the best home-field advantages in the league, RSL’s home stadium has become one of the best environments in the league.
The prospect of playing in front of those fans again on March 2 in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal meeting with UANL Tigres is one that again drew a rise out of Movsisyan.
“I got goosebumps just thinking about it. Knowing that I get to be in Salt Lake again and meeting the fans and on the second, being on the field, it’s exciting for me,” he said. “Words are difficult to find to tell you how excited I am. I can’t wait to get there.”
To hear the complete interview, listen below.
