“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Renato Júnior 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.
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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dinamo Tbilisi, and 3 appearances in 42 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Tbilisi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Words at Dinamo Tbilisi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taras Mykhavko 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.
The name of Mate Ghaghvishvili has come up in conversations Dinamo Tbilisi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
7 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Torpedo Kutaisi spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
“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 The request is on a desk at Dinamo Tbilisi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Numan Kurdić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Dinamo Tbilisi the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Tbilisi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Tskhinvali have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mathew Gbomadu. The answer from Dinamo Tbilisi has not changed — yet.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Renato Júnior. 3‑2 against Torpedo Kutaisi, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
20 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Giorgi Beridze provided it, and the 8.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 Dinamo Tbilisi, and it is not being withdrawn.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Dinamo Tbilisi have paid $1.6M for Enes Calhanoglu, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Saburtalo did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $570.0K for Petr Kudakovskiy, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Tbilisi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
$1.6M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Enes Calhanoglu was one of the reasons people came, and $1.6M does not replace that by itself.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Beka Kashia commits to Tskhinvali for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Murat Celik 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.
Guria will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. David Simiyu has pre-agreed a move to Tskhinvali, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beka Kashia 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Dinamo Tbilisi will make the call about Enes Calhanoglu this week. Tskhinvali have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tskhinvali is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
Murat Celik 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.
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Tornike 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.
“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 Tskhinvali know it.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.85 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tskhinvali is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 May 2028
Murat Celik 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Jaba Kakabadze had Tskhinvali level again within 1 minutes, and Lokomotivi never got to play with a lead at all.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Tskhinvali are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tskhinvali have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Marked 9.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Enes Calhanoglu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Murat Celik 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 unglamorous genius of a well-written contract. Irakli Mikautadze is somebody else's player now, and $10.0K has arrived because the people who sold him thought further ahead than the transfer window.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Samtredia defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tskhinvali have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tskhinvali they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Murat Celik 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.
“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 Tskhinvali know it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tskhinvali have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Revaz Qazaishvili did not need any: 7.98, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
11 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Tornike 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tskhinvali can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tskhinvali they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
7 goals in one match, Lekso Otinashvili on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tskhinvali and Kolkheti.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Murat Celik 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.
Marked 9.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Aleksandre Okriashvili 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.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Dato Mchedlidze in the middle of it, and Shukura unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
In brief
SquadWords at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tskhinvali lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Otar Tsitaishvili will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Tornike 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.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Enes Calhanoglu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Tskhinvali and Zugdidi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Enes Calhanoglu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tskhinvali may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Murat Celik 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tskhinvali will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tskhinvali can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Shukura for Enes Calhanoglu 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Tornike 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tskhinvali will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A conversation is coming this week. Tskhinvali will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Murat Celik 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Tskhinvali are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 73 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tskhinvali can pretend not to have heard.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Tskhinvali have had the benefit of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Murat Celik 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enes Calhanoglu signs something — a contract at Tskhinvali or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The terracesSupporters make their feelings known about Dato Mchedlidze
BoardroomThe Tskhinvali board put their names to it
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Tskhinvali have had the benefit of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Murat Celik 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.
20 games, 5 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Tskhinvali now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 110 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tskhinvali can pretend not to have heard.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tskhinvali may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Murat Celik 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enes Calhanoglu signs something — a contract at Tskhinvali or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tskhinvali lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Murat Celik 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 words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.51 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tskhinvali is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Murat Celik 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“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 Tskhinvali know it.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tskhinvali have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Murat Celik 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tskhinvali lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from Sioni for Otar Tsitaishvili 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Murat Celik 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enes Calhanoglu signs something — a contract at Tskhinvali or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 67 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.
91 minutes played. Tornike Mikautadze found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Dila went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Match4 Sep 2027
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Tskhinvali. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Tskhinvali are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Tskhinvali lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Tskhinvali scored in the 95th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.83 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 83 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.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Tskhinvali deserved better, and so did he.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Tskhinvali have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Dato Mchedlidze has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The words a physio says slowly. 97 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.30 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Zugdidi will make the call about Otar Tsitaishvili this week. Tskhinvali have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Tskhinvali they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Tornike Mikautadze on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tskhinvali and Torpedo Kutaisi.
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Tornike 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Tskhinvali are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dato Mchedlidze provided it, and the 9.64 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Archil Gvelesiani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.89 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Nicolás Soto 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Kristiyan Yovov is living that version at Tskhinvali, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Kristiyan Yovov is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
The offer from Brisbane Roar for Dato Mchedlidze 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.
The phone has started ringing about Enes Calhanoglu again, and this time the name on the line is Torpedo Kutaisi. Tskhinvali are listening politely and promising nothing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Tskhinvali is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Giorgi Kokhreidze from Dinamo Batumi for $140.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
In brief
SquadMurat Celik falls out with a teammate over standards
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nicolás Soto 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolás Soto has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Three points for Tskhinvali, 1‑0 the final word against Chikhura in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uglješa Radinović 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.56 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.13 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Nicolás Soto 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Tskhinvali and Merani in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Three points for Tskhinvali, 4‑2 the final word against Merani in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
The phone has started ringing about Otar Tsitaishvili again, and this time the name on the line is Zugdidi. Tskhinvali are listening politely and promising nothing.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
In brief
SquadThe division's best last weekend was a Tskhinvali man
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Irakli Kiteishvili did not need any: 8.03, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
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.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
Aleksandre Okriashvili 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 May 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Dato Mchedlidze scored in the 88th minute, Dila had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Tskhinvali took the lot.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Murat Celik 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.
A mark of 8.32 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Archil Gvelesiani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Zurab Kobiashvili and Tskhinvali agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Murat Celik 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 ratings10 May 2027
Dato Mchedlidze was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.93. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Position 3, 17 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Nicolás Soto 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Tskhinvali are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Tskhinvali and Sapovnela, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tskhinvali will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Murat Celik 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Tskhinvali can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dato Mchedlidze provided it, and the 9.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Irakli Kiteishvili did not need any: 9.59, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Uglješa Radinović 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Enes Calhanoglu. 2‑0 against Shukura, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
3 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Dato Mchedlidze was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.21. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Archil Gvelesiani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tskhinvali the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Nicolás Soto 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.
“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 Tskhinvali know it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uglješa Radinović 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.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tskhinvali will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Tskhinvali, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dato Mchedlidze provided it, and the 8.94 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Tskhinvali this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Oliver Randazzo is living that version at Tskhinvali, and it tends to show in the first month.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Tskhinvali will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Liem Cohen has just signed for Tskhinvali, and for once the answer mattered.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Liem Cohen is a Tskhinvali player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Uglješa Radinović 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 Mar 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Murat Celik 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.
“I watch every Tskhinvali game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sapovnela runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 105 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Uglješa Radinović 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
7 new faces, and Tskhinvali are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.