Dinamo Tbilisi U20

3 Jan 2027
Sunday
Process
22 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Beka Tsitaishvili damages knee ligaments — 60 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 60 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Tbilisi

Giorgi Loria and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Paris Psaltis

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paris Psaltis, and the manager let it.

The dugout

When it matters, Giorgi Kharaishvili plays

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.

The dugout

Giorgi Kharebashvili 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 Dinamo Tbilisi, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Lucas Flores has been promised minutes

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 Lucas Flores has written the date down.

In brief

Back issues
21 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Beka Tsitaishvili damages knee ligaments — 67 days out

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Numan Kurdić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Numan Kurdić, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Nikoloz Ninua gets picked when it counts

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 Nikoloz Ninua is on it.

Squad

Mathew Gbomadu has seen what the next man earns

Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Dinamo Tbilisi that is a harder question to answer.

Market

The Algassime Bah question follows Dinamo Tbilisi around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Algassime Bah’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

Giorgi Kharebashvili knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Giorgi Kharebashvili trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

20 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Beka Tsitaishvili damages knee ligaments — 74 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 74 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.

Squad

Aleksandre Kalandadze stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Aleksandre Kalandadze and Dinamo Tbilisi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

Lyes Houri gets picked when it counts

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 Lyes Houri is on it.

Squad

A wage question at Dinamo Tbilisi

Levan Shengelia has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.

Market

Welton Júnior linked with a move away

The name of Welton Júnior keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Tbilisi say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Paris Psaltis asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

19 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Beka Tsitaishvili

82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dinamo Tbilisi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A season's verdict on Giorgi Gvasalia: the best of his age

Dinamo Tbilisi have a 19-year-old the division has just voted its finest young footballer. The club's next problem is that everybody else now knows it too.

Squad

Giorgi Loria is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Dinamo Tbilisi will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Squad

The golden glove goes to Giorgi Loria

9 clean sheets across a season, and the one award on the pitch nobody else is eligible for. Most keepers get through a whole career without a year like it.

The dugout

When it matters, Aleksandre Kalandadze plays

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.

Market

The Nikoloz Ninua story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikoloz Ninua signs something — a contract at Dinamo Tbilisi or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

18 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Boardroom

Dinamo Tbilisi lift the trophy

The season a town measures the next twenty against. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Beka Tsitaishvili

90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dinamo Tbilisi lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Giorgi Loria wins the shoot-out

2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi through in the cup

A 0‑0 win over Torpedo Kutaisi, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

The dugout

Numan Kurdić keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dinamo Tbilisi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

The wait goes on for Dinamo Tbilisi

4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Match

The goals have deserted Dinamo Tbilisi

4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi can tell you which week it ends in.

Match

The run at home goes on for Dinamo Tbilisi

9 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Player ratings

Levan Shengelia fails from the spot

Twelve yards and the whole ground holding its breath, and it did not go in. He will put his name down for the next one, which is the only thing to do.

In brief

17 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Beka Tsitaishvili damages knee ligaments — 99 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 99 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Tbilisi

Jaba Kankava and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Loan watch

Levan Janelidze counts the days

“I watch every Dinamo Tbilisi game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sioni runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikoloz Ninua plays

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.

The dugout

Marios Pourzitidis knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marios Pourzitidis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

A door opens for Lucas Flores

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

Market

The Numan Kurdić talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Lyes Houri keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Lyes Houri plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

Squad

Abdoulaye Yoro has settled at Dinamo Tbilisi

The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.

In brief

16 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

The dugout

Marios Pourzitidis keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dinamo Tbilisi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Jaba Kankava in a row with a teammate

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.

Loan watch

Mikheil Makatsaria wants to come home

“I did not go to AS Trencin to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dinamo Tbilisi and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Lyes Houri gets picked when it counts

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 Lyes Houri is on it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Léo Santos

“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.

Market

The Algassime Bah talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Léo Santos: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Dinamo Tbilisi will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

Squad

A season on the outside for Joanderson

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

15 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

19 days out for Giorgi Kukhianidze after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dinamo Tbilisi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Tbilisi

Jaba Kankava 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Algassime Bah

“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 dugout

When it matters, Aleksandre Kalandadze plays

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.

Market

Dinamo Tbilisi add cover with Joanderson

It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Joanderson is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.

Squad

Levan Shengelia goes off with his country

A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Dinamo Tbilisi would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.

Squad

International call for Aleksandre Kalandadze

Aleksandre Kalandadze joins up with his country. Dinamo Tbilisi lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.

Market

The Welton Júnior talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Loan watch

4 clean sheets on loan for Mate Ghaghvishvili

7 appearances at Sioni and the goals have stopped going in. Dinamo Tbilisi lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.

In brief

14 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Giorgi Kukhianidze out for 26 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dinamo Tbilisi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Algassime Bah keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dinamo Tbilisi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Transfer targets

Joanderson due for a Dinamo Tbilisi medical

Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Tbilisi

Levan Shengelia 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 dugout

Dinamo Tbilisi keep their word to Jaba Kankava

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.

Squad

Giorgi Gvasalia makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

Jaba Kankava has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi 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.

Market

Nikoloz Ninua linked with a move away

The name of Nikoloz Ninua keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Tbilisi say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

The manager makes Lucas Flores a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Dinamo Tbilisi. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

13 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 33 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Dinamo Tbilisi

15 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

Loan watch

Levan Janelidze wants to come home

“I did not go to Sioni to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dinamo Tbilisi and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Dinamo Tbilisi

Something was said to Welton Júnior and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikoloz Ninua plays

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.

The dugout

A door opens for Lucas Flores

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

Market

The Numan Kurdić talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Levan Shengelia keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Levan Shengelia plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

Squad

Word from the training ground: Jaba Kankava

The sharpest man in every session this week, by all accounts. Lines like this run the week before somebody’s run in the side begins.

In brief

12 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 41 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Levan Shengelia

Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

The goals have deserted Dinamo Tbilisi

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi can tell you which week it ends in.

The dugout

Dinamo Tbilisi keep their word to Levan Shengelia

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.

Loan watch

Mikheil Makatsaria wants to come home

“I did not go to AS Trencin to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dinamo Tbilisi and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

The dugout

No hiding place for Numan Kurdić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Numan Kurdić, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Lyes Houri has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi 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.

The dugout

Bachana Daraselia on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Bachana Daraselia after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Match

No goals between Dinamo Tbilisi and Saburtalo

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Saburtalo will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

11 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 48 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Iyed Haj Khalifa stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Iyed Haj Khalifa and Dinamo Tbilisi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

No hiding place for Giorgi Kharaishvili

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgi Kharaishvili, and the manager let it.

Squad

Léo Santos wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

The dugout

Aleksandre Kalandadze has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi 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.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Giorgi Kharaishvili

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Saburtalo in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

Market

The Welton Júnior talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Tbilisi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Loan watch

Mate Ghaghvishvili’s loan is measured in nothing happening

4 clean sheets from 6 appearances at Sioni. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.

The dugout

Numan Kurdić 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 Dinamo Tbilisi, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

10 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 58 days out

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.

Match

After 11 games, Dinamo Tbilisi finally taste it again

The first defeat in 11 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Dila; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Levan Shengelia

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Tbilisi

Jaba Kankava 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.

Squad

Welton Júnior wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

Match

Dila take the points off Dinamo Tbilisi

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Giorgi Loria

“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.

Squad

Giorgi Gvasalia is the month’s best young player

At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Dinamo Tbilisi will try not to make too much of it.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Bachana Daraselia left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief

9 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Giorgi Kukhianidze out for 66 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dinamo Tbilisi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Dinamo Tbilisi

The unbeaten run reaches 11. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Match

The run is over for Dinamo Tbilisi

8 matches without defeat, and then Tskhinvali. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Tbilisi

Jaba Kankava and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Numan Kurdić out for 16 days

The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Numan Kurdić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Match

Nobody wins at Dinamo Tbilisi

8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Squad

16 new faces, and Dinamo Tbilisi 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.

The dugout

When it matters, Nikoloz Ninua plays

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.

Player ratings

Abdoulaye Yoro was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

In brief

8 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

73 days out for Giorgi Kukhianidze after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dinamo Tbilisi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi cannot stop winning

8 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.

Squad

Jaba Kankava in a row with a teammate

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.

Transfer targets

Atlético Tucumán tell Dinamo Tbilisi: Maximiliano Alanís is not for sale

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.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi keep winning on the road

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.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi find a way past Lokomotivi

Lokomotivi made Dinamo Tbilisi work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Giorgi Kharaishvili was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.28. 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 ratings

Lyes Houri beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

Bachana Daraselia has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Bachana Daraselia on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

7 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A fracture rules Giorgi Kukhianidze out for 80 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dinamo Tbilisi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi march on in the cup

Tskhinvali are out and Dinamo Tbilisi go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi cannot stop winning

7 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.

Player ratings

Algassime Bah was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

Giorgi Gvasalia puts it in writing

“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.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Joaquín Freitas rejects the move

Dinamo Tbilisi had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Flamengo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Transfer targets

APOEL tell Dinamo Tbilisi: Sunusi Ibrahim is not for sale

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 terraces

One of their own: Algassime Bah

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi find a way past Sioni

Sioni made Dinamo Tbilisi work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

6 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Giorgi Kukhianidze out for 87 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dinamo Tbilisi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Nikoloz Ninua asks to leave Dinamo Tbilisi

“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.

Market

Irakli Siradze says no to Zlate Moravce

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Irakli Siradze had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Boardroom

Dinamo Tbilisi close the window on a squad of their own making

14 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Tbilisi rebuffed over Felipe Pires

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo Kutaisi have kept their man, and Dinamo Tbilisi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Numan Kurdić stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Numan Kurdić and Dinamo Tbilisi agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

Welton Júnior gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Algassime Bah slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Algassime Bah is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

Squad

Lyes Houri makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

In brief

5 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 96 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Nobody wants to play Dinamo Tbilisi right now

5 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.

Market

Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Tbilisi can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Dinamo Tbilisi say no — this time

The offer from Okzhetpes for Mikheil Makatsaria 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.

Transfer targets

Gabriel Bontempo will not be coming to Dinamo Tbilisi

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Santos is saying, and nobody at Dinamo Tbilisi is enjoying the guessing.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Giorgi Mikautadze

Dinamo Tbilisi asked and Zugdidi 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 terraces

Dinamo Tbilisi supporters have found a favourite in Abdoulaye Yoro

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Abdoulaye Yoro 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.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi get the job done against Samtredia

A 2‑0 win over Samtredia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Market

Zlate Moravce join the queue for Irakli Siradze

Add another name to the list: Zlate Moravce have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Irakli Siradze. The answer from Dinamo Tbilisi has not changed — yet.

In brief

4 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A fracture rules Giorgi Kukhianidze out for 104 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dinamo Tbilisi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi march on in the cup

Kolkheti are out and Dinamo Tbilisi go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi run riot against Sapovnela

4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Market

Dinamo Tbilisi say no — this time

The offer from Honved for Mathew Gbomadu 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.

Player ratings

Both of them Nikoloz Ninua's — 8.50

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.50, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

A brace, and Giorgi Kharebashvili takes the afternoon — 8.24

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Giorgi Kharebashvili provided it, and the 8.24 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Transfer targets

No deal for Etiosa Ighodaro at that price

Dinamo Tbilisi offered $5.0M; Kaizer Chiefs said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Abdoulaye Yoro at 19 — 7.82

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abdoulaye Yoro did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Mikheil Makatsaria hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Tbilisi can pretend not to have heard.

In brief

3 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 112 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 112 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi through in the cup

A 4‑0 win over Sapovnela, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Match

Cruel end for Torpedo Kutaisi as Dinamo Tbilisi pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Dinamo Tbilisi scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

A brace, and Iyed Haj Khalifa takes the afternoon — 8.71

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Iyed Haj Khalifa provided it, and the 8.71 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Both of them Davit Jikia's — 8.14

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.14, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Transfer targets

An offer of $4.6M for Etiosa Ighodaro

Dinamo Tbilisi have gone to Kaizer Chiefs with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Abdoulaye Yoro at 19 — 8.22

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abdoulaye Yoro did not need any: 8.22, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Podbrezova come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Dinamo Tbilisi did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Joaquín Freitas rejects the move

Dinamo Tbilisi had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Flamengo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

In brief

2 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Giorgi Kukhianidze breaks a bone — 119 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 119 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Mathew Gbomadu signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mathew Gbomadu commits to Dinamo Tbilisi for another 4 years.

Market

Dinamo Tbilisi say no — this time

The offer from Merani for Levan Janelidze 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Giorgi Kharebashvili

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Tbilisi

Jaba Kankava and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Palmeiras tell Dinamo Tbilisi: Agustín Giay is not for sale

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.

Market

One of our own: Saba Shengelia joins the Dinamo Tbilisi first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Saba Shengelia is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

One of our own: Khvicha Chakvetadze joins the Dinamo Tbilisi first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Khvicha Chakvetadze is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Beka Tsitaishvili steps up from the Dinamo Tbilisi academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Beka Tsitaishvili has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief

1 Edition

The Dinamo Tbilisi Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Dinamo Tbilisi run riot against Kolkheti

12‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Squad

A day Mate Vatsadze will not forget

4 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.

Squad

4 goals for Nikoloz Ninua

The match ball belongs to Nikoloz Ninua, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Player ratings

Both of them Giorgi Kharaishvili's — 8.33

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.33, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Mate Vatsadze yet — 9.80

At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.80 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze delivers — 7.49

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze scored, was marked 7.49, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Market

Andijon come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Dinamo Tbilisi did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Tbilisi rebuffed over Marcelo Flores

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tigres have kept their man, and Dinamo Tbilisi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Jaba Kankava signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jaba Kankava commits to Dinamo Tbilisi for another 2 years.

In brief