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
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 ...
win its first
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
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
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 ...
's
sports director, assigned Alachachian to the club's
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 ...
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.
See also
*
List of EuroLeague-winning head coaches
The list of EuroLeague-winning head coaches shows all of the head coaches that have won the EuroLeague championship. The EuroLeague is the European professional club basketball system, European-wide top-tier level professional basketball club comp ...
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