Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan ( hy, Նիկիտա Մկրտիչ Սիմոնյան, born ''Mkrtych Pogosovich Simonyan'', 12 October 1926) is a former
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
football striker and coach of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n descent. He was born in
Armavir. As of 2021 he was the Russian football functionary First Vice-President of the
Russian Football Union. Simonyan was awarded the
Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR
Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR (russian: Единая Всесоюзная спортивная классификация) is a document which provided general Soviet physical education system requirements for both athletes an ...
title in 1954, the Honored Coach of Russia title in 1968, the Merited Coach of the USSR title in 1970 and the Commander of the Order "For Services to the Fatherland" award in 2011. Simonyan is the top scorer in the history of the club
Spartak Moscow at 160 goals.
Club career
Simonyan was a player for
FC Dinamo Sukhumi during his youth career. After sixteen years of living in
Sokhumi
Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...
, Simonyan moved to Moscow, where he joined the local club FC Krylya Sovetov Moscow, also known as the "Wings of the Soviets". Gorokhov became Simonyan's first coach in Moscow.
After Krylya Sovetov Moscow came in last place at the
1948 Soviet Top League
14 teams took part in the league with CSKA Moscow winning the championship.
League standings
Results
Top scorers
;25 goals
* Sergei Solovyov (Dynamo Moscow)
;23 goals
* Vsevolod Bobrov (CDKA Moscow)
;19 goals
* Aleksandr Ponomarev (Torpe ...
, the club was disbanded. Simonyan signed with Spartak Moscow in 1949. In his first year, Spartak Moscow came in third place at the
1949 Soviet Top League
Following are the results of the 1949 Soviet Top League football championship.
Standings
Results
Top scorers
;26 goals
* Nikita Simonyan (Spartak Moscow)
;23 goals
* Ivan Konov (Dynamo Moscow)
* Aleksandr Ponomarev (Torpedo Moscow)
;20 ...
. Simonyan and Spartak finally achieved victory in the
1952 Soviet Top League
14 teams took part in the league with FC Spartak Moscow winning the championship.
League standings
Results
Top scorers
;11 goals
* Andrei Zazroyev (Dynamo Kiev)
;8 goals
* Vladimir Ilyin (footballer, born 1928), Vladimir Ilyin (Dynamo Moscow ...
. He made 233 appearances and scored 133 goals for Spartak in his career.
International career
Simonyan joined the
Soviet Union national football team
The Soviet Union national football team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по футбо́лу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po futbólu) was the national football team of the former Soviet Union.
After the breakup of the Union the team was transformed in ...
in 1954. He competed with the team at the
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
in Melbourne. The team defeated Germany, Indonesia, Bulgaria and finally Yugoslavia to win
the gold medal in football.
Simonyan was a member of the Soviet football team at the
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country.
Brazil be ...
, its first World Cup. Because Team Captain
Igor Netto
Igor Aleksandrovich Netto (russian: Игорь Александрович Нетто; 9 January 1930 – 30 March 1999) was a Soviet footballer, considered one of the greatest Soviet players ever. He started out playing on the left of defense b ...
was unable to play due to injury for most of the World Cup, Simonyan was named Captain of the team in his place. The team was placed in Group 4. Simonyan scored a goal against England, and the Soviet team would have been defeated without it. The Soviet Union lost to the
Pelé-led Brazil team in the final group game. The USSR came in second place, which qualified them for the knockout stage. They were defeated by Sweden. Simonyan played his last match on 19 June 1958. Out of 20 internationals for the team, he scored 10 goals.
Managerial career
After retiring from football as a player, Simonyan became the manager and head coach of Spartak Moscow in 1960. After Simonyan and Spartak won the 1965 Soviet Cup, Simonyan stopped managing the club. He started managing Spartak again in 1967. Spartak made it to the Top League finals again in 1968 but did not win. The club won the
1969 Soviet Top League
20 teams took part in the league with FC Spartak Moscow winning the championship.
Round 1 Group A Table
Results
Group B Table
Results
Round 2 Places 1–14 Table
Results
Top scorers
;16 goals
* Dzhemal Kherhadze (Torpedo Kutaisi)
* ...
, their second Top League title with Simonyan as head coach and manager. Simonyan and Spartak won the 1971 Soviet Cup. Simonyan stopped managing Spartak for good in 1972.
Simonyan, an Armenian himself, began managing and coaching Armenian club
FC Ararat Yerevan
Football Club Ararat Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Արարատ Երևան), commonly known as Ararat Yerevan, is an Armenian football club based in Yerevan that plays in the Armenian Premier League.
Since 1999, the club ...
in 1973. He led the club to victory at
1973 Soviet Top League
Statistics of Soviet Top League for the 1973 season.
Overview
It was contested by 16 teams, and Ararat Yerevan won the championship.
League standings
Results
Results in brackets indicate the results from penalty shoot-outs whenever games were ...
. Ararat Yerevan won the 1973 Soviet Cup as well that year. Under Simonyan, the club won its first Soviet titles. Simonyan stopped leading the club in 1974. He came back to Ararat Yerevan in 1984 and stopped managing for good in 1985.
Administrative career
Simonyan later worked in senior positions at the
Football Federation of the Soviet Union
The Football Federation of the USSR (russian: Федерация футбола СССР) was a governing body of football in the Soviet Union and since 1972 the main governing body of football in the country. The Federation was created late i ...
, Sports Committee of the USSR and the
Russian Football Union. On 24 November 2009, Simonyan was appointed acting president of the
Russian Football Union following the resignation of
Vitaly Mutko. Simonyan was in office until 3 February 2010. At a special conference of the Russian Football Union,
Sergei Fursenko
Sergey Aleksandrovich Fursenko (russian: Серге́й Александрович Фурсенко) (born 1954 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Russian businessman.
He is a brother of Andrei Fursenko.
Career
Since the early 1990s, Fursenko has ...
was chosen as the new president on 3 February.
Simonyan was in attendance for the
UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
match between
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
and
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
in
Yerevan, which ended in a draw. On 25 March 2011, the day before the match, Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan
Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)[Of ...](_blank)
awarded Nikita Simonyan with the "Medal of Honor." At the award ceremony, Simonyan said:
I am honored to receive this esteemed award. You know, I'm one hundred percent Armenian. My parents, being Armenians from Artvin
Artvin ( Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea.
It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam. It is a former bishopric and (vacant) Arme ...
, once escaped from the genocide. My father was a great patriot. For me it was a great honor to lead the national team in 1973, "Ararat." And what did these guys win the title and the cup for me, as a coach, was a holiday. You can not pass, as it responded to the people. Indeed, it was a great team. So I'm a generation, and of course, all our people just grateful and worship.
After Sergei Fursenko resigned on 25 June 2012, Simonyan was appointed acting president of the Russian Football Union for a second time. Simonyan left office on 3 September 2012, when Nikolai Tolstykh was elected president of the Russian Football Union.
Simonyan, along with fellow Spartak veteran
Alexander Mirzoyan
Alexander Bagratovich Mirzoyan ( hy, Ալեքսանդր Բագրատի Միրզոյան; russian: Александр Багратович Мирзоян) (born 20 April 1951) is a retired Soviet football player and coach of Armenian descent. B ...
, sent well wishes to
Yura Movsisyan
Yura Movsisyan ( hy, Յուրա Մովսիսյան; born 2 August 1987) is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Most notably, Movsisyan played for Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League. He played for the ...
in connection with his becoming a Spartak player. Simonyan wrote to Movsisyan, “Dear Yura, I hope that you win more titles at Spartak than I. I wish you success!” Movsisyan replied: “It will be difficult to exceed Simonyan’s achievements—
othas a player and a coach. Thanks very much for such valuable gift. I know of Simonyan and Mirzoyan as the greatest players, and I am proud to be an Armenian just like them. I have not seen them play, but I know that they have done a lot for Spartak. I am not even close to them
n terms of accomplishments utI certainly do have plans. I want to score goals and achieve wins.
ndwhen something goes successfully, I will enter into history at that time.” On 19 February 2013, Simonyan attended the grand opening of the new Spartak arena. He reminisced that if he were 20 years younger, he would be happy to still play for the club.
Honours
Club
;Player
Spartak Moscow
*
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
(4):
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes ...
,
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
,
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
,
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
*
Soviet Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS ( Moldov ...
(2): 1950, 1958
*Soviet Top League Top Goalscorer (3):
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – ...
(26 goals),
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
(34 goals),
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
(14 goals)
;Manager
Spartak Moscow
*
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
(2):
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
,
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
*
Soviet Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS ( Moldov ...
(3): 1963, 1965, 1971
Ararat Yerevan
Football Club Ararat Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Արարատ Երևան), commonly known as Ararat Yerevan, is an Armenian football club based in Yerevan that plays in the Armenian Premier League.
Since 1999, the club is ...
*
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
(1):
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
*
Soviet Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS ( Moldov ...
(1): 1973
Country
Soviet Union
*
Olympic Games (1): Gold Medal
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
*
FIFA World Cup (1):
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
Quarterfinalist
Individual
*
Order of Merit for the Fatherland 3rd class
*
Order of Merit for the Fatherland 4th class
*
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
*
Order of the Badge of Honor
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
*
*
Medal "Veteran of Labour"
The Medal "Veteran of Labour" (russian: медаль «Ветеран труда») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union established on January 18, 1974 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to honour workers f ...
*
Olympic Order
References
External links
Profile and interview
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonyan, Nikita
1926 births
Living people
People from Armavir, Russia
Soviet footballers
Armenian footballers
Russian footballers
Soviet Top League players
FC Spartak Moscow players
Soviet Union international footballers
Armenian football managers
Russian football managers
Soviet football managers
FC Spartak Moscow managers
FC Ararat Yerevan managers
FC Chornomorets Odesa managers
Soviet Union national football team managers
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
Olympic footballers of the Soviet Union
Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic medalists in football
1958 FIFA World Cup players
Russian people of Armenian descent
Soviet Armenians
Russian football chairmen and investors
Association football forwards
Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Presidents of the Russian Football Union