Zugdidi U20

15 May 2027
Saturday
Process
41 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Zugdidi

A 1‑4 beating by Dinamo Batumi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Archil Chakvetadze stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Market

Bachana Qazaishvili asks to leave Zugdidi

“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.

Player ratings

Bachana Qazaishvili pops up at the right end — 7.53

7.53, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.

Squad

Aleksandre 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Archil Gamsakhurdia 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

Jaba Janelidze 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.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Zugdidi 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.

Squad

Kakha Kiteishvili signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kakha Kiteishvili and Zugdidi agree another 3 years.

In brief

Back issues
40 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Beka Tsitaishvili out for 55 days

The medical room confirms 55 days on the sidelines for Beka Tsitaishvili, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Khvicha Lobjanidze 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaba Janelidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Zugdidi come up short against Kolkheti

Kolkheti left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Otar Arveladze

“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

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 Beka Chakvetadze left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

Sandro Kiteishvili dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

Squad

The weekend belonged to Sergey Protasov

Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.

In brief

39 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Sergey Protasov scores twice — 9.57

Two goals and a mark of 9.57 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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.

Match

Zugdidi see off Shukura

Three points for Zugdidi, 3‑2 the final word against Shukura in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandre Zivzivadze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Archil Chakvetadze

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

Player ratings

Khvicha Lobjanidze runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jaba Janelidze

Marked 8.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

The dugout

Beka Chakvetadze: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑2, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

Archil Chakvetadze 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 Archil Chakvetadze is on it.

In brief

38 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Vintage Mikheil Kobiashvili — 8.22

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.22, and nobody on the pitch better.

Market

Only the photograph left for Saba Kakabadze

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Saba Kakabadze will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zugdidi the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Archil Chakvetadze signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Archil Chakvetadze commits to Zugdidi for another 4 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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

Jaba Janelidze 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.

Match

Sergey Protasov sends Zugdidi past Guria

It finished 2‑0, and it was Sergey Protasov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zugdidi.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mamuka Janelidze

“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.

Player ratings

Sergey Protasov was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.42. 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.

Loan watch

Guram Kakabadze counts the days

“I watch every Zugdidi 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.

In brief

37 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Khvicha Lobjanidze stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Khvicha Lobjanidze and Zugdidi agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jaba Janelidze

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 Zugdidi

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

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaba Janelidze 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Zugdidi against Chikhura

0‑1 to Chikhura, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jaba Janelidze

“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

Archil Gamsakhurdia is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zugdidi has been clear about where Archil Gamsakhurdia stands, which is more than many ever get.

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 0‑1 Beka Chakvetadze left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief

36 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Zugdidi taken apart

0‑4 to Dila, 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.

Squad

9 saves: Archil Chakvetadze was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

The small margins put Zugdidi out

Out, 0‑2 to Dinamo Batumi, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Market

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Zugdidi leaking at the back

5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Market

Mikheil Kobiashvili told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Mikheil Kobiashvili has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Zugdidi.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Zugdidi

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • Squad Archil Lobjanidze makes the team of the month
  • The dugout A promise honoured at Zugdidi
35 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Khvicha Janelidze

19 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.

Player ratings

A brace, and Sergey Protasov takes the afternoon — 9.20

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sergey Protasov provided it, and the 9.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Bachana Qazaishvili goes up and wins it — 7.80

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.80 for the rest of it.

Match

Sergey Protasov the difference as Zugdidi beat Merani

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sergey Protasov. 3‑2 against Merani, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksandre Mchedlidze 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.

Squad

Archil Gamsakhurdia 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Zugdidi supporters have found a favourite in Bachana Qazaishvili

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Bachana Qazaishvili 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.

The dugout

Jaba Daraselia 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.

The dugout

Beka Chakvetadze 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.” Beka Chakvetadze on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

34 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Khvicha Janelidze out for 26 days

26 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.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

The goals have deserted Zugdidi

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

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Match

A bad afternoon for Zugdidi against Saburtalo

0‑2 to Saburtalo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Archil Chakvetadze 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

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Loan watch

Guram Kakabadze has seen enough of Sioni

“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 9 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

Beka Chakvetadze: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

33 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Archil Chakvetadze stands alone

12 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Khvicha Janelidze

33 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.

Match

Nowhere to hide for Zugdidi

0‑3 against Dinamo Tbilisi, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Mikheil 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

Inquest at Zugdidi

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

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 0‑3 Beka Chakvetadze left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

The form table has caught Jaba Daraselia

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Bachana Janelidze

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

In brief

32 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Khvicha Janelidze damages knee ligaments — 40 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 40 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

Sergey Protasov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sergey Protasov commits to Zugdidi for another 3 years.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

4 academy graduates step up at Zugdidi

Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.

Market

Vakhtang Kobiashvili steps up from the Zugdidi academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vakhtang Kobiashvili 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.

Market

One of our own: Mikheil Ananidze joins the Zugdidi first team

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

Market

Avtandil Tsitaishvili steps up from the Zugdidi academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Avtandil 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.

Market

One of our own: Kakha Qazaishvili joins the Zugdidi first team

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

Match

Tskhinvali take the points off Zugdidi

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Aleksandre Zivzivadze gets picked when it counts
31 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Khvicha Janelidze

47 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.

Market

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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.

Squad

Giorgi Kiteishvili falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

When it matters, Archil Chakvetadze 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

The manager makes an example of Kakha Kiteishvili

“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.

In brief

30 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Khvicha Janelidze out for 54 days

54 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.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Loan watch

Guram Kakabadze has seen enough of Sioni

“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 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.

Market

The Aleksandre Zivzivadze talk will not go away

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.

In brief

29 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Khvicha Janelidze damages knee ligaments — 61 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 61 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.

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandre Mchedlidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Bachana Chakvetadze signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bachana Chakvetadze commits to Zugdidi for another 3 years.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Bachana Chakvetadze

“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.

In brief

28 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Khvicha Janelidze out for 70 days

70 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Archil Gamsakhurdia 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Aleksandre Zivzivadze is on it.

Market

The Archil Chakvetadze question follows Zugdidi around

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

Squad

Beka Kakabadze still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Zugdidi would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

In brief

27 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Khvicha Janelidze damages knee ligaments — 77 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 77 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.

Market

Mamuka Kashia 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 0 in, 2 out at Zugdidi

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Archil Gamsakhurdia 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

MFK Skalica are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Zugdidi will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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 dugout

When it matters, Archil Chakvetadze 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

The manager makes an example of Kakha Kiteishvili

“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

Sergey Protasov remains an outsider

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 Zugdidi would admit. It shows on Saturdays.

In brief

26 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Khvicha Janelidze damages knee ligaments — 84 days out

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.

Market

MFK Skalica watching Mikheil Kobiashvili

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Zugdidi have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Tbilisi tell Zugdidi: Otar Arveladze 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.

Squad

Mikheil Kobiashvili 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

In brief

25 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Khvicha Janelidze damages knee ligaments — 91 days out

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.

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Squad

Bachana Qazaishvili signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bachana Qazaishvili commits to Zugdidi for another 4 years.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Transfer targets

Zugdidi ask about Otar Arveladze

A loan enquiry to Dinamo Tbilisi: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief

24 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Khvicha Janelidze

98 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.

Market

Mikheil Kobiashvili says no to Ermis

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

Market

Terms done: Saba Kakabadze is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Shukura waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zugdidi is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Guram Kakabadze attracts admirers

The name of Guram Kakabadze has come up in conversations Zugdidi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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.

Market

The Archil Chakvetadze question follows Zugdidi around

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

The dugout

Kakha Kiteishvili 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

23 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Zugdidi turn down Dila for Sergey Protasov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

The dugout

Kakha Kiteishvili says Zugdidi went back on their word

“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.

Market

Mikheil Kobiashvili attracts admirers

The name of Mikheil Kobiashvili has come up in conversations Zugdidi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksandre Mchedlidze was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Mate Ghaghvishvili is in the works

Zugdidi have made the call to Dinamo Tbilisi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Market

The Archil Janelidze conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Sapovnela will make the call about Archil Janelidze this week. Zugdidi have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

The dugout

Archil Chakvetadze 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 Archil Chakvetadze is on it.

The dugout

Tornike Kashia 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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Saba Kakabadze is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zugdidi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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

Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Market

The Aleksandre Zivzivadze talk will not go away

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 dugout

Tornike Kashia 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 Tornike Kashia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Questions about Giorgi Kiteishvili on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

21 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Archil 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.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Kakha Kiteishvili

“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 Sergey Protasov story refuses to die

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

Squad

Questions about Aleksandre Mchedlidze on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

20 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Guram Kakabadze is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zugdidi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Archil Gamsakhurdia 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.

Squad

Giorgi Kiteishvili falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Aleksandre Zivzivadze is on it.

Market

The Mikheil Kobiashvili question follows Zugdidi around

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

Squad

Questions about Goga Arveladze on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

19 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Archil Lobjanidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Archil Lobjanidze 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Squad

5 new faces, and Zugdidi 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, Archil Chakvetadze 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.

Squad

A step back for Archil Janelidze at Zugdidi

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

In brief

18 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Market

The Aleksandre Zivzivadze talk will not go away

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.

In brief

17 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

In brief

16 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Guram Tsitaishvili 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Guram Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Temur Kiteishvili 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 dugout

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Kakha Kiteishvili

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

Market

The Mikheil Kobiashvili question follows Zugdidi around

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

The dugout

Tornike Kashia 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.

Squad

Questions about Bachana Janelidze on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

15 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Loan watch

Goga Kiteishvili wants to come home

“I did not go to Chikhura to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zugdidi and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Archil Chakvetadze 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 Archil Chakvetadze is on it.

Market

The Jaba Janelidze question follows Zugdidi around

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

The dugout

Kakha Kiteishvili 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

14 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Loan watch

Bachana Kvilitaia wants to come home

“I did not go to Shukura to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zugdidi and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.

Market

The Aleksandre Zivzivadze talk will not go away

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 terraces

The Mikheil Kobiashvili rumours reach the terraces

What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Zugdidi would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.

Squad

The training reports on Guram Tsitaishvili are not good

A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.

In brief

13 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zugdidi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Archil 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.

Squad

Words at Zugdidi training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Squad

The training reports on Mamuka Zivzivadze are not good

A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.

The dugout

Archil Lobjanidze keeps his manager's vote

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

In brief

12 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Guram Tsitaishvili 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Guram Kakabadze

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Guram Kakabadze will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zugdidi the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Guram Tsitaishvili 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

When it matters, Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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

Vakhtang Qazaishvili 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 Vakhtang Qazaishvili trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

11 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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.

Squad

Giorgi Kiteishvili 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.

Loan watch

Goga Kiteishvili has seen enough of Chikhura

“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 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.

In brief

10 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Archil Lobjanidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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

Jaba Janelidze 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.

Squad

Jaba Daraselia slips down the pecking order

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

Squad

The month belongs to Sergey Protasov

The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Zugdidi have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.

Loan watch

Bachana Kvilitaia counts the days

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

In brief

9 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

4 goals for Sergey Protasov

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

Match

Cruel end for Lokomotivi as Zugdidi pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Zugdidi scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Khvicha Lobjanidze at 15 — 8.00

The hardest thing about being 15 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Khvicha Lobjanidze did not need any: 8.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Market

Saba Kakabadze is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zugdidi is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

One of those days for Sergey Protasov

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Match

Zugdidi find a way past Lokomotivi

Lokomotivi made Zugdidi work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Jaba Janelidze falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Khvicha Lobjanidze

At 15 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.

In brief

8 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Guram Tsitaishvili 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Only the photograph left for Guram Kakabadze

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Guram Kakabadze will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zugdidi the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Zugdidi come up short against Sioni

Sioni left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Archil Chakvetadze 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

Giorgi Kiteishvili falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The dugout

Beka Chakvetadze answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

Aleksandre Zivzivadze 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 Aleksandre Zivzivadze is on it.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Sandro Kiteishvili

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

In brief

7 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Aleksandre Mchedlidze

14 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.

Player ratings

Both of them Sergey Protasov's — 8.89

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.89, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Saba Kakabadze has said yes to Shukura

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Zugdidi have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Market

Zugdidi say no — this time

The offer from Sioni for Jaba Gamsakhurdia 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Beka Kakabadze 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Zugdidi rescue it on 91 minutes

Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Samtredia had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jaba Janelidze

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Loan watch

Goga Kiteishvili wants to come home

“I did not go to Chikhura to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zugdidi and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.

In brief

6 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Aleksandre Mchedlidze

21 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.

Market

Torpedo Kutaisi 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.

Market

Terms done: Guram Kakabadze is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Shukura waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zugdidi is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 11 in, 11 out at Zugdidi

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 11 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Zugdidi find a way past Sapovnela

Sapovnela made Zugdidi work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Giorgi Kiteishvili

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

In brief

5 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Zugdidi taken apart

1‑6 to Torpedo Kutaisi, 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.

Squad

Aleksandre Mchedlidze damages knee ligaments — 28 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 28 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

8 saves: Archil Chakvetadze was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Mamuka Zivzivadze asks to leave Zugdidi

“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

Not going: Guram Kakabadze stays at Zugdidi

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Chikhura had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Market

Zugdidi say no — this time

The offer from Samtredia for Goga Arveladze 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.

Market

Mikhail Kozlovsky moves on

Dinamo Batumi pay $890.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Match

7 goals as Zugdidi and Torpedo Kutaisi go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Zugdidi and Torpedo Kutaisi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Tempers go at Zugdidi

Mikheil 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.

In brief

4 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Aleksandre Mchedlidze out for 35 days

35 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.

Squad

Archil Chakvetadze keeps Zugdidi in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Dinamo Batumi 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.

Market

Tornike Kashia 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 Zugdidi, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Sergey Protasov 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 Zugdidi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Zugdidi sell Guram Gamsakhurdia for $280.0K

Guram Gamsakhurdia has left for Dila in a $280.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Market

Zugdidi sell Beka Kashia for $15.0K

Beka Kashia has left for Lokomotivi in a $15.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Match

A bad afternoon for Zugdidi against Dinamo Batumi

0‑1 to Dinamo Batumi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

A row about effort at Zugdidi

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgi Kiteishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

3 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

10 saves: Archil Chakvetadze was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

The knee: Aleksandre Mchedlidze out for 42 days

42 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.

Match

The small margins put Zugdidi out

Out, 1‑2 to Torpedo Kutaisi, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Match

Zugdidi run riot against Kolkheti

3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Market

Saburtalo 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 ratings

Mikheil Kobiashvili, 33, rolls back the years — 8.89

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.89 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Market

Jaba Gamsakhurdia says no to Chikhura

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

Market

Temur Janelidze attracts admirers

The name of Temur Janelidze has come up in conversations Zugdidi were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Player ratings

Mikhail Kozlovsky was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 24. 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

2 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Sergey Protasov leads the rout of Shukura

3‑0, and Sergey Protasov took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Zugdidi tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

Temur Janelidze beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Kolkheti 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.

Squad

3 goals for Sergey Protasov

The match ball belongs to Sergey Protasov, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Market

Archil Janelidze says no to Guria

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

Player ratings

Mikheil Kobiashvili, 33, rolls back the years — 7.82

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.82 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Squad

Sergey Protasov signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sergey Protasov and Zugdidi agree another 2 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Zugdidi

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

Market

One of our own: Bachana Kiteishvili joins the Zugdidi first team

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

In brief

1 Edition

The Zugdidi Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Mikhail Kozlovsky

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

Market

Levan Mchedlidze 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 Zugdidi can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zugdidi

Sergey Protasov 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 targets

Dinamo Tbilisi tell Zugdidi: Léo Santos 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.

Squad

Mikhail Kozlovsky 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.

Market

Eyes on Archil Janelidze again

The phone has started ringing about Archil Janelidze again, and this time the name on the line is Guria. Zugdidi are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Mamuka Zivzivadze signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mamuka Zivzivadze commits to Zugdidi for another 2 years.

Market

Tornike Kashia is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zugdidi has been clear about where Tornike Kashia stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Beka Chakvetadze on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief