Marked for Jaba Qazaishvili
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Kolkheti's wait for a win
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kolkheti has to find a result from somewhere.
Market12 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A brace, and Guram Zivzivadze takes the afternoon — 7.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Guram Zivzivadze provided it, and the 7.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Zurab Qazaishvili was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match10 Apr 2027
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Kolkheti and Dinamo Tbilisi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristiano Casella is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market12 Apr 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kolkheti has been clear about where Jaba Qazaishvili stands, which is more than many ever get.
Match10 Apr 2027
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad12 Apr 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Tornike Kakabadze knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Kolkheti's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kolkheti has to find a result from somewhere.
Market22 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Cristiano Casella 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kolkheti know it.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“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.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
“I watch every Kolkheti game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sioni runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match20 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kolkheti may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Cristiano Casella 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market8 Feb 2027
Kolkheti spent the window trying to move Vakhtang Daraselia on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Feb 2027
$40.0K from Guria for Vakhtang Qazaishvili. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Market1 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
Kolkheti sell a favourite for $40.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Vakhtang Qazaishvili was one of the reasons people came, and $40.0K does not replace that by itself.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Jaba Qazaishvili was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristiano Casella is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Tornike Kakabadze has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Kolkheti will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kolkheti can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jan 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Dila will make the call about Bachana Mikautadze this week. Kolkheti have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristiano Casella is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Beka Mikautadze has come up in conversations Kolkheti were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market18 Jan 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zurab Qazaishvili signs something — a contract at Kolkheti or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kolkheti can pretend not to have heard.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market11 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Kolkheti have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Cristiano Casella 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
57 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Jan 2027
Kolkheti say no — this time
The offer from Dila for Zurab Qazaishvili was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaba Qazaishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tornike Kakabadze has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Kolkheti will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Jaba Qazaishvili was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristiano Casella is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 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 Kolkheti, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Irakli Tsitaishvili commits to Kolkheti for another 3 years.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Jaba Qazaishvili 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Khvicha Chakvetadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Luka Sanikidze: 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.” Kolkheti have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Kakha Kiteishvili 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Kolkheti game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Merani runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Cristiano Casella 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.
Squad19 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Kolkheti's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kolkheti has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Bachana Mikautadze was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Kakha Kiteishvili 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 Sep 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Dinamo Batumi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch21 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Dinamo Batumi to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kolkheti and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Kolkheti
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Kolkheti are no longer polite ones.
Match5 Sep 2026
6 matches without a goal for Kolkheti
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kolkheti, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kolkheti this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Cristiano Casella 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Jaba Qazaishvili did the work nobody counts — 6.56
10 combined actions and 6.56. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Bachana Mikautadze is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Kolkheti will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Shukura will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Kolkheti
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kolkheti can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Aug 2026
The goals have deserted Kolkheti
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Kolkheti can tell you which week it ends in.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Jaba Qazaishvili was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Kolkheti training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kakha Kiteishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad31 Aug 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Kolkheti and Guria cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Guria came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.