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, 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 in 1973. He led the club to victory at 1973 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. Administrative career Simonyan later worked in senior positions at the Football Federation of the Soviet Union, 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 was chosen as the new president on 3 February. Simonyan was in attendance for the UEFA Euro 2012 match between Russia and Armenia in Yerevan, which ended in a draw. On 25 March 2011, the day before the match, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan 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, 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