Boris Bjarni Akbashev

Personal information
Full name	Boris Abokhai Akbashev
Born	(1933-07-12)12 July 1933 Moscow, Soviet Union
Died	19 April 2023(2023-04-19) (aged 89) Reykjavík, Iceland
Nationality	Icelandic
National team
Years	Team
	Soviet Union
Teams managed
Years	Team
1962–1980	SK Kountsevo Moscow
1980–1982	Valur
1989–1992	Breiðablik
1992–1994	Valur
1994–1995	Hapoel
1995–199?	Valur
1999–2001	ÍBV

Boris Bjarni Akbashev (12 July 1933 – 19 April 2023) was a Soviet-born Icelandic handball coach and player.^[1][2] Credited with revolutionizing the training methods in Iceland, he has been called the Godfather of Icelandic handball.^[3][4][5]

Akbashev was born and raised in Moscow in the Soviet Union.^[6] He played for the Soviet national handball team in the 1960s and later became the technical and endurance coach of the team intermittently between 1967 and 1972, including at the World Championships and Olympics.^[7]

Akbashev became the coach of SK Kountsevo Moscow in 1962 and coached the team until 1980, helping them to the Soviet Men's Handball Championship in 1966, 1967 and 1969.^[1][8]

After having discussions with Víkingur and Ármann, Boris joined Valur in 1980^[9] and stayed for two years. He returned to Iceland in 1989 to coach Breiðablik until 1992, after which he spent most of his time at Valur, except for one season, 1994–95, when he coached Hapoel in Israel where he won both the Israeli championship and the Israeli Cup. He coached the ÍBV from 1999 to 2001 and at the same time was an assistant coach with the Iceland men's national handball team.^[10]

Akbashev received Icelandic citizenship in 1997,^[1] and took up the name Bjarni at the same time.^[7]

References

1. Steinþór Guðbjartsson (26 April 1998). "Ég verð aldrei kóngur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 22–23. Retrieved 20 April 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
2. Kolbeinn Tumi Daðason (20 April 2023). "Boris Bjarni Akbachev fallinn frá". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
3. Tómas Þór Þórðarson (6 February 2015). "Guðfaðirinn tekur Óla Stef í kennslustund með smámynt ber að ofan". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
4. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (17 December 2020). "Hélt að hann væri á þrekæfingu en þetta var bara upphitun hjá Bogdan". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
5. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (27 April 2023). "Sótbölvandi senseiinn sem elskaði að kenna". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 April 2023.
6. "Hver er þessi maður?". Dagur (in Icelandic). 29 November 1997. p. 22. Retrieved 25 April 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
7. Ívar Benediktsson (20 April 2023). "Andlát: Boris Bjarni Akbashev". Handbolti.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
8. "Eitt besta handknattleikslið Rússlands leikur hér á landi". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 19 September 1981. p. 39. Retrieved 20 April 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
9. "Ármanns/Víkingsþjálfarinn fer til Vals!". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 15 July 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 20 April 2023 – via Tímarit.is.
10. "Boris Bjarni Akbashev er látinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.