Nikita Simonyan, football player, coach. Biography

Nikita Simonyan — early years

Nikita Simonyan was born in Armavir on October 12, 1926. At birth, he was given the name Mkrtich, but his playmates called the boy Nikita. It was under this name that he entered the history of football. The father of the future athlete worked as a shoemaker, and his mother ran the household.

Later, the family moved to Abkhazia and settled in Sukhumi. It was here that Simonyan spent his childhood and youth. The boy showed musical abilities — he played the trumpet in the school brass band and worked part-time at city events. He spent the money he earned on pocket expenses and trips to the cinema. The parents hoped that their son would become a musician, but fate decreed otherwise. After watching the movie "Goalkeeper," the young man "fell ill" with football and began to devote all his free time to it.

During the Great Patriotic War, the family stayed in Sukhumi. Nikita's father was injured during the air raid, and the man spent almost six months in the hospital. During this difficult period, Simonyan met with Dynamo Sukhumi player Shota Lominadze, who became his first coach.

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After the dismissals of the head coaches, the red and white won the derby against CSKA, and the blue and white prevailed over their Makhachkala teammates.

In 1944, the novice athlete already played for the Sukhumi Dynamo youth team. The following year, the club beat Moscow's Krylia Sovetov twice, with Simonyan scoring all the goals against the capital's team. These matches opened the way for him to big—time football - Krylia coaches Vladimir Gorokhov and Abram Dangulov invited the talented striker to their team.

Nikita Simonyan — football career

In 1946, Simonyan moved to Moscow and became a player for Krylia Sovetov. He moved into Gorokhov's apartment, whose family had become his family. However, the first match for the new team was overshadowed by the hard news — the father of a football player was arrested in Sukhumi. As it turned out later, in this way the Georgian authorities wanted to force the athlete to transfer to Dinamo Tbilisi. However, Simonyan did not succumb to pressure, and his father supported his decision. Soon the man was released.

"Indeed, there was a search, the father was arrested, they said: "We will release you when your son will play for Dinamo Tbilisi. The father replied: "Let my son play wherever he wants," Simonyan recalled in an interview.

In 1948, after the disbandment of the Wings of the Soviets, Simonyan joined the resurgent Spartak. He quickly became one of the team's leading players and in his debut season he was named the top scorer of the USSR championship, scoring 26 goals. The following season turned out to be even more successful, with 34 goals scored. In just two seasons, the athlete became one of the main stars of Soviet football.

Simonyan's incredible results on the field attracted the Air Force club, which was patronized by Joseph Stalin's son Vasily. In the midst of training in Kislovodsk, the leader's son sent a private plane with two adjutants for Simonyan. He was taken to Moscow, where the athlete personally met with Stalin Jr. Despite the persuasions, Simonyan refused to join the Air Force, openly stating that it was at Spartak that he revealed himself as a player.

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This idea was suggested by the former mentors of the Russian national team — Gazzaev, Semin and Cherchesov.

"That (Vasily Stalin. — Ed.) turns to the retinue: "You heard, the man told me the truth to my face. Go play for your Spartak, and remember that I will receive you at any time on any issue," the footballer recalled.

In 1954, Simonyan made his debut for the USSR national team and scored two goals against the Swedish team in the very first match. Two years later, he also joined the national Olympic football team. The athlete himself took part only in the last match against the Yugoslav team, for which he received a gold medal.

In 1958, Spartak won the USSR Cup, with Simonyan scoring the only goal in the final. In 1959, at the age of 33, he ended his playing career. In total, Simonyan scored 160 goals for Spartak. To this day, he remains the top scorer in the club's history.

Nikita Simonyan — career coach

At the end of 1959, Simonyan became the senior coach of Spartak. In his debut season, the team took only seventh place in the standings. But already in 1962, Spartak pulled ahead, and Simonyan managed to bring in many young players, including Galimzyan Khusainov, Vladimir Maslachenko, Yuri Sevidov and Gennady Logofet. And in 1963 and 1965, Simonyan's team won the USSR Cup.

In 1965, Simonyan had to resign as coach after an incident with a player of his team, Yuri Sevidov, who knocked down a famous scientist in a drunken state.

Simonyan was able to return to Spartak in 1967. Thanks to him, the team won the championship title again in 1969, and in 1971 it won its third victory at the USSR Cup. After that, Simonyan moved to Ararat Yerevan, which, under his leadership, became the champion of the Soviet Union for the first and only time, beating Dynamo Kyiv in the Cup final.

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The head coach of the national team left Dynamo and referred to preparations for his return to the international arena.

In 1977, Simonyan became the head of the USSR national team, but failed to achieve significant results and left the post in 1979. Then he coached Chernomorets Odessa (1980-1981) and Ararat again (1984-1985). After completing his coaching career, he switched to administrative work: he was the head of the USSR national team, the first deputy chairman of the USSR Football Federation, and since September 1992 he served as the first vice-president of the RFU.

Nikita Simonyan — personal life

The athlete met his future wife Lyudmila Grigorievna Novikova, a doctor by profession, in his youth. In their marriage, they had a daughter, Victoria, who followed in her mother's footsteps and became a dentist. She gave her parents three grandchildren: Grigory, Nikita and Ivan.

Nikita Simonyan — death

Nikita Simonyan died on November 23, 2025 at the age of 99. This was announced by the president of the Union of Football Veterans of Russia Alexander Mirzoyan. According to him, the man felt unwell on November 20, after which he was hospitalized. Doctors fought for his life, but they couldn't save him.

Simonyan's farewell will take place on November 27 at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow. All upcoming matches of the Russian Cup and the Russian Premier League will be dedicated to the memory of the legendary football player and coach, and the games will begin with a minute of silence.