Armenak Misakovich Alachachian (alternate spellings: Alachachyan, Alatchatchan, Alajajian) (, December 25, 1930 – December 4, 2017) was an Armenian-

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. During his club playing career, the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

reached European stardom with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

and the senior men's Soviet Union national team. He was the first person to ever win a

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

title, as both a player and a

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Club career

Whie he was the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

, Alachachian helped

win its first

championship in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. He added a second EuroLeague championship with CSKA in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, and he reached another EuroLerague Final in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, before retiring.

National team career

As a player of the senior men's Soviet national team, Alachachian won four gold medals at the

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

. As he won the 1953 EuroBasket, the 1961 EuroBasket, the 1963 EuroBasket, and the 1965 EuroBasket. He also won a

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

silver medal, which he won at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Coaching career

Aleksandar Gomelsky, who was at the time

's sports director, assigned Alachachian to the club's

position in 1968. Alachachian would go on to lead the team to the

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship in 1969. Alachachian thus became the first person to win the title as both a player and a head coach. 1796910 607151076032391 944229371 o

References

FIBA Profile "Armenak Alachachian"
*
Euroleague.net - Player nominees for Euroleague's 50 Greatest ContributorsArmenak Alachachian's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alachachian, Armenak 1930 births 2017 deaths Armenian basketball coaches Armenian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Alexandria Egyptian people of Armenian descent Egyptian emigrants to the Soviet Union EuroLeague–winning coaches FIBA EuroBasket–winning players Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union PBC CSKA Moscow coaches PBC CSKA Moscow players Point guards Soviet basketball coaches Soviet Armenians Soviet men's basketball players

Club career

National team career

Coaching career

See also

References