Marked for Bachana Daraselia
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout29 Nov 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad29 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Zugdidi
Sandro Gamsakhurdia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zugdidi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market29 Nov 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zugdidi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Bachana Daraselia has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Zugdidi 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.
Loan watch29 Nov 2027
26 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout1 Nov 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad1 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Zugdidi
Sandro Gamsakhurdia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Zugdidi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shota Lobjanidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Ilia Buzaladze slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ilia Buzaladze is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Kisley Zita 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 Zugdidi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout1 Nov 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.
Market1 Nov 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zugdidi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Bachana Daraselia has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Zugdidi 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.
Loan watch1 Nov 2027
26 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Oct 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kakha Kvilitaia
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zugdidi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Temur Janelidze and Zugdidi agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Zugdidi
Sandro Gamsakhurdia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shota Lobjanidze 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saba Shengelia, and the manager let it.
Market4 Oct 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Kakha Kvilitaia has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Zugdidi.
Market4 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zugdidi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Bachana Daraselia has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Zugdidi 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.
Loan watch4 Oct 2027
26 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
63 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zugdidi lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A fracture rules Temur Janelidze out for 43 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zugdidi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Dec 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nika Zivzivadze 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market28 Dec 2026
The name of Sandro Gamsakhurdia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zugdidi say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Nobody at Zugdidi 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.
Market28 Dec 2026
Zugdidi have made Bachana Daraselia available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davit Kobiashvili
93 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zugdidi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market30 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.
Squad30 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mamuka Kvilitaia 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davit Kobiashvili
108 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zugdidi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad16 Nov 2026
85 days out for Temur Janelidze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zugdidi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Sandro Gamsakhurdia 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces2 Nov 2026
Anger at Shukura spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market2 Nov 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 Shukura, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Christianno 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Shukura
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amiran Tkeshelashvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bachana Daraselia is on it.
Market2 Nov 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Davit Kobiashvili
124 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zugdidi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad2 Nov 2026
99 days out for Temur Janelidze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zugdidi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Zugdidi
Nika Zivzivadze and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“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 Zugdidi, and 2 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Market2 Nov 2026
The name of Sandro Gamsakhurdia keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zugdidi say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout2 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 34, with 1 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
Market2 Nov 2026
Zugdidi have let the market know Levan Qazaishvili can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
115 days out for Temur Janelidze after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zugdidi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Zugdidi
Sandro Gamsakhurdia 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mamuka Kvilitaia 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Giorgi Kavtaradze 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Shukura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amiran Tkeshelashvili 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Shukura would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces5 Oct 2026
Anger at Shukura spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market5 Oct 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“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; Shukura are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Shukura
Emerson Martins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Shukura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christianno 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Nika Lobjanidze
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nika Lobjanidze has come out of that comparison in the side, and Shukura have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Anri Gogitidze
“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 dugout5 Oct 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.
Market5 Oct 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Shukura through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Tskhinvali, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 7.79 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Tskhinvali keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Giorgi Kavtaradze 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
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.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout17 Aug 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
0‑5 to Merani, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market3 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 Shukura can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Giorgi Kavtaradze commits to Shukura for another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Shukura
Giorgi Kavtaradze 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.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Shukura asked and Dinamo Batumi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Shukura dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Shukura have made the call to Zugdidi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A brace, and Sandro Gamsakhurdia takes the afternoon — 8.93
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sandro Gamsakhurdia provided it, and the 8.93 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market3 Aug 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Zugdidi asked and Gimnasia y Esgrima said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Mamuka Kvilitaia 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
Guria made Zugdidi work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Bachana Daraselia again, and this time the name on the line is Shukura. Zugdidi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Nika Zivzivadze 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Artyom Gusev commits to Zugdidi for another 2 years.