Marked for Ruslan Zubkov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market10 May 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 The request is on a desk at Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 May 2027
Makar Kuznetsov 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Lasha Gvelesiani 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
A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Roy Katri
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 47. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad29 Mar 2027
José Graterol 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.
Match27 Mar 2027
Three points for Tskhinvali, 1‑0 the final word against Shukura in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Tskhinvali training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paublo Jara 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Durán, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Lasha Gvelesiani 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
Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad1 Feb 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 Feb 2027
A season-long audition: Dila still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Zugdidi's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Jan 2027
Zugdidi refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 19 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Saba Daraselia out for 15 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Sapovnela come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Zugdidi did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market18 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Goga Okriashvili again, and this time the name on the line is Dila. Zugdidi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Squad18 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Saba Daraselia out for 22 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Makar Kuznetsov: 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.” Zugdidi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Zugdidi have made Lasha Zivzivadze available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Saba Daraselia out for 29 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.
Market4 Jan 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Dato Shengelia again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Wehda. Zugdidi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market4 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Lasha Gvelesiani 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zurab Shengelia 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
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Continental nights are coming to Zugdidi
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Saba Daraselia out for 66 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Beka Qazaishvili: 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.” Zugdidi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Saba Daraselia out for 80 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zugdidi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ruslan Zubkov 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.
Squad19 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
Goga Mchedlidze is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad12 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
6 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match12 Sep 2026
6‑0, and Dato Shengelia took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Zugdidi tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market14 Sep 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ruslan Zubkov reports back to Zugdidi with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match12 Sep 2026
Dato Shengelia among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Dato Shengelia on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Zugdidi and Samtredia.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Giorgi Gvelesiani 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 Sep 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Dato Shengelia
11 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Tornike Chakvetadze was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.45. 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes of Temur Qazaishvili at his very best
Marked 8.12. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Zugdidi.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑0 against Sapovnela, and it could have been more.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.55, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A brace, and Tornike Chakvetadze takes the afternoon — 9.50
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tornike Chakvetadze provided it, and the 9.50 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Lasha Kvaratskhelia 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Shota Mikautadze
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Shota Mikautadze has come out of that comparison in the side, and Zugdidi have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Market7 Sep 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ruslan Zubkov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
The words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
Squad31 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.
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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Ruslan Zubkov again, and this time the name on the line is Tskhinvali. Zugdidi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match29 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Zugdidi
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Zugdidi are no longer polite ones.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match29 Aug 2026
Zugdidi are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Zurab Shengelia 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
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
Sioni arrived with $45.0K and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Tornike Chakvetadze takes the afternoon — 8.88
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tornike Chakvetadze provided it, and the 8.88 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Zugdidi sell a favourite for $45.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Lasha Mchedlidze was one of the reasons people came, and $45.0K does not replace that by itself.
Market24 Aug 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ruslan Zubkov 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Revaz Kvaratskhelia has come up in conversations Zugdidi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Gvelesiani 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
The goal that put Dinamo Batumi ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Zugdidi equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Match12 Aug 2026
Zugdidi bow out of the cup
Torpedo Kutaisi go through and Zugdidi go home, 2‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match15 Aug 2026
Nowhere to hide for Zugdidi
0‑3 against Kolkheti, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market17 Aug 2026
Tskhinvali come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Zugdidi did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Lasha Gvelesiani takes the afternoon — 8.25
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lasha Gvelesiani provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
A cup hiding at Torpedo Kutaisi leaves Zugdidi explaining themselves
2-5, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Lasha Gvelesiani 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
Triumph
Squad10 Aug 2026
44 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Shukura will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Zugdidi were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad10 Aug 2026
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market10 Aug 2026
Zugdidi say no — this time
The offer from Chikhura for Temur 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lasha Gvelesiani and Zugdidi agree another 2 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Lasha Gvelesiani 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 9.52 — 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 8.91 — 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ruslan Zubkov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.