FC Samgurali Tsqaltubo

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FC Samgurali Tsqaltubo
Full nameს.კ. სამგურალი წყალტუბო
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945)
Ground26 May Stadium
Capacity3,500
OwnerMikheil Iashvili
CoachMikheil Ashvetia
LeagueErovnuli Liga
2023Erovnuli Liga, 5th
WebsiteClub website

FC Samgurali (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი სამგურალი) is a Georgian association football club from Tsqaltubo, which takes part in Erovnuli Liga, the first tier of the national league.

They have been runners-up of the Georgian Cup three times.

History[edit]

In Soviet and national leagues[edit]

Formed in 1945 as FC Medic, the football club from Tsqaltubo had the most prolific years in the 1980s. Between 1983 and 1990 under the name Shadrevani 83 they became champions of the Georgian Soviet league three times, once finished as runners-up and once won bronze medals.

When Georgian Football Federation formed an independent championship in 1990, Samgurali spent eight out of the initial ten seasons in the top flight. In 1999/2000, they finished in the drop zone and left the league. In this period the team experienced the worst decade in their history as they ceased to exist for four years.[1]

Samgurali gained promotion to the second division in 2010 and stayed there as a stable member for nine successive seasons. The team finished as group runners-up in the 2016 transitional tournament, when the promotion rule was suspended.[2] Two years later they slipped into the relegation zone after the last round. Worse was yet to come, as Samgurali suffered a play-off defeat on away goals.[3]

Despite this setback, following the club's purchase by new owners in the summer of 2019, ambitious promotion plans were unveiled.[4] It took Samgurali a year to climb back to Liga 2. The team came 2nd in the regular season and secured a convincing victory in both play-off ties.[5] The next season brought another triumph. The club prevailed over their opponents again in both games and returned to the first tier after an eighteen-year break.[6] This double promotion in two consecutive years was achieved under head coach Ucha Sosiashvili.

Due to his impressive performance in the league, striker Sergo Kukhianidze became the first Samgurali player who was called up to the national team for friendly games in June 2021.[7]

In 2022, Samgurali had a memorable season, which could have resulted in their first top-league medals since 1990. As primary contenders for the third place, the team needed to play at least a draw in the final day of the season against rivals Dila Gori. But they threw away this initial advantage and ended up fourth for the second time in their recent history.[8]

Georgian Cup[edit]

Apart from winning promotion to Erovnuli Liga, the team in 2020 also achieved an impressive success by reaching the final of David Kipiani Cup for the first time since 1999. As in the previous case though, they again lost the final game on penalty shoot-out.[9]

Nor the third attempt made the next year was fruitful. Having won four away games en route to the final, Samgurali were defeated in the regular time with a narrow margin.[10]

Seasons[edit]

Season Div Pos P W D L GF GA Pts Top scorer Goals Cup
1990 UL 14/18 34 11 6 17 42 57 39 R3
1991 UL 11/20 19 7 3 9 21 34 24
1991/92 UL 12/20 38 14 6 18 41 55 48 R1
1992/93 UL 4/17 32 18 4 10 73 51 58 Merab Megreladze 41 QF
1993/94 UL, West 8/8 14 1 1 12 12 42 4 QF
11-19 Places 14/19 16 9 1 6 27 29 28
1994/95 UL 16/16 30 5 6 19 30 68 21 R1
1995/96 PL 1/20 38 33 3 2 132 28 102 DNE
1996/97 UL 11/16 30 10 5 15 35 54 35 R2
1997/98 UL 12/16 30 9 7 14 31 50 34 R1
1998/99 UL 11/16 30 10 3 17 32 57 33 RU
1999/2000 UL, A 7/8 14 3 2 9 9 27 11 R1
9-16 Places 13/16 14 8 3 3 17 8 33
2000/01 PL 6/12 22 12 3 7 38 40 39 QF
1-6 Places 3/6 10 5 3 2 13 7 38
2001/02 UL 12/12 22 3 5 14 16 37 14 R2
7-12 Places 11/12 10 5 1 4 11 10 23
2002/03 PL 4/16 30 15 8 7 42 26 53 R1
2003/04 PL 2/16 30 17 7 6 39 19 58 R2
The club was dissolved in 2005-2009
2010/11 PL 14/17 32 8 6 18 38 64 30 DNE
2011/12 PL 7/10 18 6 5 7 27 23 23 Giorgi Bukhaidze 7 DNE
2012/13 PL 6/12 30 13 7 10 59 48 46 Tornike Kapanadze 27 R1
2013/14 PL 7/14 26 11 6 9 49 49 39 Giorgi Bukhaidze 14 R1
2014/15 PL 4/10 36 19 3 14 76 50 60 Giorgi Tevdoradze 17 R1
2015/16 PL 6/18 34 16 3 15 60 46 51 Giorgi Tevdoradze 17 DNE
2016 PL 2/9 16 10 2 4 29 24 32 Mamuka Gongadze 8 R1
2017 L2 4/10 36 16 5 15 46 46 53 Gaga Chkhetiani 12 R5
2018 L2 8/10 36 12 5 19 40 56 41 Gaga Chkhetiani 12 R3
2019 L3 2/10 36 21 7 8 52 29 70 Sergo Kukhianidze 16 R2
2020 L2 2/10 18 8 6 4 23 12 30 Sergo Kukhianidze 7 RU
2021 EL 7/10 36 9 14 13 34 46 41 Sergo Kukhianidze 11 RU
2022 EL 4/10 36 15 12 9 55 44 57 Irakli Rukhadze 13 R3
2023 EL 5/10 36 16 9 11 53 51 57 Giorgi Nikabadze 9 SF

Honours[edit]

Top scorers[edit]

With 41 goals scored in the 1992/93 season, Merab Megreladze has been the leading goalscorer not only in the history of Samgurali, but also in the Georgian top football division since its creation in 1990.[11]

Current squad[edit]

As of 10 March 2024[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Georgia (country) GEO Anzor Kasradze
2 DF Croatia CRO Bartul Markovina
4 DF Georgia (country) GEO Omar Patarkatsishvili
5 MF Georgia (country) GEO Irakli Janjgava
6 MF Georgia (country) GEO Gegi Geguchadze
7 DF Georgia (country) GEO Ilia Akhvlediani
8 MF Georgia (country) GEO Beka Dartsmelia
9 MF Georgia (country) GEO Luka Sherozia
10 MF Georgia (country) GEO Demur Chikhladze
11 MF Georgia (country) GEO Luka Khorkheli
13 GK Georgia (country) GEO Nodari Kalichava
15 FW Brazil BRA Gean Carlos
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Brazil BRA Fernando Bull
17 FW Georgia (country) GEO Aleksandr Verulidze
18 MF Ecuador ECU Walter Mora
19 FW Georgia (country) GEO Nika Kalandarishvili
22 DF Georgia (country) GEO Tedo Kikabidze
23 DF Tajikistan TJK Mekhrubon Karimov
25 MF Georgia (country) GEO Anzor Tevzadze
30 MF Tajikistan TJK Alidzhoni Ayni
31 FW Georgia (country) GEO Giorgi Topuria
39 FW Ivory Coast CIV Gnamien Gislain Yikpe
40 GK Georgia (country) GEO Luka Kutaladze

Managers[edit]

  • Georgia (country) Giorgi Gogiashvili (August 2011 – July 2016)
  • Georgia (country) Gia Gigatadze (August 2016 – May 2018)
  • Georgia (country) Besik Khachiperadze (May 2018 – January 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Mikheil Makhviladze (January – September 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Ucha Sosiashvili (September 2019 – April 2021)[13]
  • Georgia (country) Samson Pruidze (April – December 2021)
  • Georgia (country) Giorgi Mikadze (December 2021 – December 2022)[14]
  • Georgia (country) Giorgi Chelidze (January – September 2023)[15]
  • Ukraine Oleksandr Poklonskyi (October – December 2023)
  • Georgia (country) Mikheil Ashvetia (since December 2023)

Other teams[edit]

Samgurali have several teams participating in different youth tournaments. The reserve team known as Samgurali-2, which has recently spent one season in the third division, won Regionuli Liga Group West in 2021 and became a member of Liga 4.[16]

Stadium[edit]

The local football ground named after 26 May, the Georgian Independence Day, has undergone a several-phase reconstruction since 2018. After individual seats were installed, the arena has the capacity of 3,500.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "აღზევება: "სამგურალის" გზა მაღალი საზოგადოებისკენ". lelo.ge (in Georgian), 29 Dec 2020.
  2. ^ "პირველი ლიგა ოთხმა კლუბმა გაინაღდა". mysports.ge (in Georgian), 25 November 2016.
  3. ^ "სამგურალი - გურია". eliga.ge (in Georgian), 14 December 2018.
  4. ^ "საინტერესო გეგმები წყალტუბოს ,,სამგურალის" პრეზიდენტისგან". fcsamgurali.ge (in Georgian), 18 February 2020.
  5. ^ "სამგურალი ეროვნულ ლიგაში აღზევდა". sportall.ge (in Georgian), 19 Dec 2020.
  6. ^ "18-წლიანი ლოდინი დასრულდა - სამგურალი ეროვნულ ლიგაშია". popsport.com (in Georgian), 19 December 2020.
  7. ^ ""წარმოუდგენელი გრძნობაა' - სერგო კუხიანიძე საქართველოს ნაკრებში გამოძახებაზე". popsport.com (in Georgian), 18 May 2021.
  8. ^ "3:0 კონკურენტთან - გორის დილა კონფერენსლიგაზე გავიდა" (in Georgian). 3 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Სამგურალი - გაგრა". gff.ge, 8 November 2020.
  10. ^ "სამგურალის მესამე ვერცხლი საქართველოს თასზე". fcsamgurali.ge (in Georgian), 8 December 2021.
  11. ^ "საინტერესო ფაქტები ეროვნული ლიგის ბომბარდირებზე". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 6 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Players". erovnuliliga.ge.
  13. ^ "უჩა სოსიაშვილმა წყალტუბოს სამგურალი დატოვა". live.ge (in Georgian). 14 April 2021.
  14. ^ "სამგურალს გიორგი მიქაძე გაწვრთნის". fcsamgurali.ge (in Georgian), 28 December 2021.
  15. ^ "წყალტუბოს სამგურალის მთავარ მწვრთნელად გიორგი ჭელიძე დაინიშნა". europop.ge (in Georgian). 3 January 2023.
  16. ^ "2021 in Regional league". gff.ge.
  17. ^ "3000 ინდივიდუალური სკამი ტრიბუნაზე – წყალტუბოში სტადიონი რეაბილიტირდება" (in Georgian). 23 August 2021.

External links[edit]