Marked for Luka Tsulaia
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jan 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo Kutaisi have done the hard part with Dinamo Batumi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Nodar Lominadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market11 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Goga Kvilitaia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market11 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Otar Arveladze is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Tsulaia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The formation has left Luka Tsulaia behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Torpedo Kutaisi will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Otar Kakabadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Pedro Venaque arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Pedro Venaque has, at Dinamo Tbilisi, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Paris Psaltis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pedro Venaque and Dinamo Tbilisi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
When it matters, Lyes Houri plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dinamo Tbilisi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market21 Dec 2026
The Lyes Houri talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Lautaro Taboada has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Samtredia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Philipe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Philipe, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Samtredia
Vakhtang Gvelesiani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Samtredia will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market21 Dec 2026
The Eric Barrios story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eric Barrios signs something — a contract at Samtredia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Julen Cordero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Goga Kashia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Dec 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Otar Kvaratskhelia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Samtredia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Carlos Philipe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Helistano Manga
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Raul Baratelia knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Samtredia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market14 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Julen Cordero signs something — a contract at Samtredia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Samtredia will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Paris Psaltis: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dinamo Tbilisi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Otar Kakabadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Jaba Kankava
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Dinamo Tbilisi are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
When it matters, Lyes Houri plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Lautaro Taboada asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Eric Barrios in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Samtredia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Luka Tsulaia is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market16 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Julen Cordero signs something — a contract at Samtredia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The training reports on Helistano Manga are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Otar Gagnidze: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Samtredia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Julen Cordero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Samtredia can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Carlos Philipe falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Luka Tsulaia is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Samtredia will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market19 Oct 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Samtredia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Asad Asadov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Asad Asadov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.83 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Eric Barrios in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Samtredia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
The drought breaks for Samtredia
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Chikhura were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Transfer targets21 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tskhinvali have kept their man, and Samtredia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Julen Cordero’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Samtredia.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Carlos Philipe falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Revaz Ananidze could afford to be generous.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Luka Tsulaia's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.