Soviet football legend Nikita Simonyan dies at 99

Nikita Simonyan, Olympic champion and one of the greatest figures in Soviet and Armenian football, has died at the age of 99.

His death was announced by Alexander Mirzoyan, President of Russia’s Union of Football Veterans, who said Simonyan had been hospitalised on 20 November after feeling unwell.

Simonyan was the all-time leading scorer in the history of Spartak Moscow, where he won four Soviet league titles as a player and later guided the club to two more as head coach.

He also led Ararat Yerevan to a historic league and cup double in 1973 and returned for a second spell in charge in the mid-1980s. Ararat described his contribution to Armenian football as “invaluable”, adding that Simonyan was “a true great”.

Among his major achievements was winning gold with the Soviet Union at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Ararat extended condolences to Simonyan’s family, the Armenian football community and the club’s supporters.