Maria Komandnaya, host of the draw for the 2018 World Championship held in Russia, sports journalist, referred to the death of the legendary Nikita Simonyan, sharing an exciting episode about the meeting between the world-famous Argentinian football player Diego Maradona and Simonyan. Komandnaya recalled on social networks what happened during the draw ceremony, when the ball accidentally fell from Simonyan's hand, and Maradona immediately rushed to help.
"Rest in peace, Nikita Pavlovich...
Maradona is on the right in this photo. When the draw for the World Championship was going on, the ball fell from Nikita Pavlovich's hand for a moment. And Maradona rushed to help him. It seems to me that he was aware of Simonyan's greatness, it was felt," wrote Komandnaya. The presenter also expressed her admiration for Simonyan's hard work and dedication to football. "It is an absolute shock to me that Nikita Pavlovich went to work at the office of the Russian Federation (Russian Football Union) almost every day... How one must love one's work, love football... 1956 Olympic champion. Just imagine. He was the oldest living Olympic champion. He left at the age of 99... A legend."
Nikita Simonyan died on Sunday, November 23, at the age of 99. He was the best scorer in "Spartak" history, in 1956. Olympic champion, four-time USSR champion (as a player) and three-time champion (as a coach). Since 1992, he held the position of the first vice-president of the RFM. Diego Maradona passed away on November 25, 2020, at the age of 60.
