 Simonyan in 1977 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan | ||
| Date of birth | (1926-10-12)12 October 1926 | ||
| Place of birth | Armavir,North Caucasus Krai, Russian SFSR, USSR | ||
| Date of death | 23 November 2025(2025-11-23) (aged 99) | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dynamo Sukhumi | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1948 | Krylya Sovetov Moscow | 52 | (9) |
| 1949–1959 | Spartak Moscow | 233 | (133) |
| Total | 285 | (142) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954–1958 | USSR | 20 | (10) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1960–1965 | Spartak Moscow | ||
| 1963 | USSR | ||
| 1964 | USSR | ||
| 1967–1972 | Spartak Moscow | ||
| 1973–1974 | Ararat Yerevan | ||
| 1977–1979 | USSR | ||
| 1980–1981 | Chornomorets | ||
| 1984–1985 | Ararat Yerevan | ||
| 1988 | USSR | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan (Russian:Никита Павлович Симонян,Armenian:Նիկիտա Պողոսի Սիմոնյան; 12 October 1926 – 23 November 2025) was a Soviet and Russianfootballstriker and coach ofArmenian descent. He spent most of his career atSpartak Moscow, where he was top scorer of all time with 160 goals.[1] He played for theSoviet Union national team, winning the gold medal at the1956 Olympics and reaching the quarter-finals of the1958 FIFA World Cup. As a manager, he won theSoviet Top League withArarat Yerevan in1973.
Simonyan was the Russian football functionary First Vice-president of theRussian Football Union.[2] He was awarded theHonoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1954, the Honored Coach of RSFSR title in 1968, the Merited Coach of the USSR title in 1970 and theOrder "For Merit to the Fatherland" in 2011.[3]
Simonyan was born with the Armenian name Mkrtich (Մկրտիչ), but was given the Russian name Nikita by friends. He was known as Nikita for the rest of his life, including in Armenia.[4] When he was four, he settled inAbkhazia, where his father was a cobbler.[5]
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Simonyan was a player forDynamo Sukhumi during his youth career. After sixteen years of living inSukhumi, he moved to Moscow, where he joined the local clubKrylya 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 the1948 Soviet Top League, the club was disbanded. Simonyan signed withSpartak Moscow in 1949. In his first year, Spartak Moscow came in third place at the1949 Soviet Top League. Simonyan and Spartak finally achieved victory in the1952 Soviet Top League. He made 233 appearances and scored 133 goals for Spartak in his career.
Simonyan made his debut for theSoviet Union national team in 1954. He competed with the team at the1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where the team wonthe gold medal in football.[6]
Simonyan was a member of the Soviet football team at the1958 FIFA World Cup, its first World Cup. BecauseIgor Netto was unable to play due to injury for most of the World Cup, Simonyan was namedcaptain of the team in his place. He scored in a 2–2 draw withEngland as the Soviets advanced from a group also includingAustria andBrazil; the Soviets were eliminated by hostsSweden in the quarter-finals.[5] Due to high hopes since winning the Olympic gold, the performance was considered a failure by theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union.[5]
Simonyan played his last match on 19 June 1958. Out of 20 internationals for the team, he scored 10 goals.[7]
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After retiring from football as a player, Simonyan became the manager and head coach of Spartak Moscow in 1960. After he 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 the1969 Soviet Top League, 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 clubArarat Yerevan in 1973. He led the club to victory at1973 Soviet Top League. 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.
Simonyan later worked in senior positions at theFootball Federation of the Soviet Union, Sports Committee of the USSR and theRussian Football Union. On 24 November 2009, he was appointed acting president of the Russian Football Union following the resignation ofVitaly Mutko. He was in office until 3 February 2010. At a special conference of the Russian Football Union,Sergey Fursenko was chosen as the new president on 3 February.
Simonyan was in attendance for theUEFA Euro 2012 match between Russia and Armenia inYerevan, which ended in a draw. On 25 March 2011, the day before the match, Armenian PresidentSerzh Sargsyan awarded 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 fromArtvin, once escaped fromthe 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.[8]
After Sergey Fursenko resigned on 25 June 2012, Simonyan was appointed acting president of the Russian Football Union for a second time. He left office on 3 September 2012, when Nikolai Tolstykh was elected president of the Russian Football Union.
Simonyan, along with fellow Spartak veteranAlexander Mirzoyan, sent well wishes to ArmenianYura Movsisyan who joined Spartak in December 2012.[9] 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.[10]
In October 2025, following the death ofCharles Coste, Simonyan became the oldest living Olympic champion.[11] He died in the evening on 23 November 2025, at the age of 99.[12] His colleague,Vyacheslav Koloskov, stated that Simonyan had continued working until his very final days: on Thursday of 20 November he was, as usual, in theRFU office and had stayed there till 15 o'clock; later that day he broke his leg and was hospitalized.[13] He was the last surviving player from the Soviet Union's both 1956 Olympic football team and 1958 World Cup team.
Spartak Moscow
Soviet Union
Spartak Moscow
Ararat Yerevan
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Soviet Union squads | |||||||
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