The film about the legend of "Spartacus" Simonyan, "The Golden Double," will be released on January 29.

The film about the legendary striker of the capital's Spartak football club and outstanding coach Nikita Simonyan, The Golden Double, will be released on January 29. The film tells about one of the most difficult and at the same time vivid periods in the life of an athlete — his difficult departure from the post of head coach of Spartak to Ararat Yerevan. The project participants talked about the work on it on January 27.

The Golden Double is a sports drama about a man who is a truly great figure in football. Nikita Simonyan is a legend of Spartak Moscow, a sports "dad" for many famous football players who could not help but come to the film screening. Moreover, Simonyan himself took part in the creation of the film, closely following the accuracy of the events.

"I'm actually Nikita Palych's son. He once took me by the hand, brought me to Spartak, and three years later made me the best football player in the country," said Evgeny Lovchev, a football player, Honored Master of Sports of Russia, coach, and sports columnist.

After the coach joined Ararat, the team, which had not always shown success before, was able to win the Russian championship in one year, and then win the cup, making the so-called "Golden Double".

"That was his trip to Yerevan, and he was an instant success. I wanted to show how it happened," explained the screenwriter of the film, Eduard Ayanian.

Simonyan did not live to see the premiere of the film for only a few months, but at the time when he was still healthy, at the age of 98, he controlled the process of creating a picture on the set even from a distance.

Actor Egor Beroev, who embodied the role of Simonyan, the coach on the big screen, consulted with the sports star, as well as with his family.

"When we go to the history of the match, we need to take down the football, and this is a different technology. Even the cameraman who filmed the football was a different person, he even came from America, Fedor Lyas," Beroev said.

At the premiere screening of the Golden Double, which took place in the arena of the Spartak Academy, those who remember Simonyan's precepts met, and for whom the film about him is something more than just a movie.

"I really love sports stories that are being transferred to the screen now. And when it's done about a legend, it's always very interesting," said Ruslan Nigmatullin, former goalkeeper of Spartak and the Russian national football team.

The national teams of the legends of the USSR and the legends of Spartak played in the match dedicated to the memory of Simonyan. Simonyan was not only considered Spartak's best striker, but also won gold at the 1956 Olympics with the USSR national team, forever inscribing his name in the annals of world football.

During the premiere of the film, the emotions of the audience changed several times: from laughter to tears with applause. However, Simonyan's relatives told about the most honest impressions.

"The most touching were, of course, the last shots of the chronicle, they made me cry a little. As it was, I really liked the film, it was important for dad to show the truth of the story so that it would inspire," his daughter Victoria said.

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Simonyan died on November 23 last year at the age of 99. It was noted that he felt unwell on November 20, after which the former coach was hospitalized. The great football player was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Simonyan a football legend and an idol for fans. He also expressed his condolences to the relatives and the family of the football player.

Simonyan's family was also given the gold medal of the Hero of Labor of Russia "for special services to the state, a great contribution to the development and popularization of domestic football."

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.