At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.35 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Zviad Sikharulia 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nodar Kavtaradze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Mamuka Ananidze on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Nodar 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.
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 needed Levan Tsotsonava to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Sioni, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Mamuka Ananidze chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Ruslan Askerov 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.
It finished 3‑1, and it was Javohir Esonqulov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Merani.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zviad Sikharulia 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.
8.20. 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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Mamuka Ananidze kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
0‑4 against Torpedo Kutaisi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikheil Janelidze, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tornike Kvaratskhelia 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Tskhinvali, and 4 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Archil Tsitaishvili to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
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.
“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.
A mark of 7.87 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Guram Kiteishvili. 1‑0 against Guria, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 Tskhinvali, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Otar Janelidze
Jaba Kobiashvili 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Tskhinvali, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Goga Gamsakhurdia 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tskhinvali know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tskhinvali, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 84 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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Zugdidi keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Nodar 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Batumi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikoloz Kharabadze 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Merani are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The words a physio says slowly. 91 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Merani have done the hard part with Tskhinvali, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Zviad Sikharulia 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo Kutaisi have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Levan Tsotsonava signs something — a contract at Merani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Merani will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Luka Kadaria
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Tskhinvali people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Tskhinvali will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tskhinvali, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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.
Nobody at Tskhinvali 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Tskhinvali know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Saba Lobjanidze plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Davit Qazaishvili 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.
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Goga Gamsakhurdia 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.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tornike Kvaratskhelia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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.
Nobody at Tskhinvali 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tskhinvali, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Tskhinvali, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nodar 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Merani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikoloz Kharabadze 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tornike Kvaratskhelia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Tskhinvali 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Otar Shengelia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The terracesThe stands have heard the Vito Sanna talk too
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nodar 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.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Tskhinvali lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Tskhinvali will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
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 Alan Caruaru has written the date down.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Merani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.37 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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 goal that put Lokomotivi ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Merani equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Mamuka Ananidze, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The words a physio says slowly. 96 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gimnasia y Tiro have kept their man, and Merani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
8.27. 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.
Tornike Mindiashvili is 19, and Merani have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
He is going to Sioni, the club has $34.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
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 phone has started ringing about Nika Chakvetadze again, and this time the name on the line is Merani. Tskhinvali are listening politely and promising nothing.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Nika Chakvetadze obliged against Shukura. 7‑4 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Tskhinvali.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Guram Kiteishvili provided it, and the 10.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Jaba Kobiashvili 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.
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Tskhinvali and Shukura in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two goals and a mark of 8.42 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
Tskhinvali asked and Guria 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 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 17 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.