FC Kolkheti-1913 Poti

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FC Kolkheti-1913 Poti
FC Kolkheti Poti Logo.png
Founded1913; 109 years ago (1913)
GroundFazisi Stadium
Poti, Georgia
Capacity6,000
ChairmanGiorgi Chaduneli
ManagerGia Gigatadze
LeagueErovnuli Liga 3
20212nd of 14
WebsiteClub website

FC Kolkheti-1913 is a Georgian football club based in Poti, which currently takes part in Liga 3, the third division of Erovnuli Liga.

Being registered in 1913, Kolkheti is considered one of the oldest clubs in the South Caucasus.[1] They were a long-time participant of the first tier of Georgian national league.

History[]

Domestic leagues[]

The Soviet period[]

The football club from Poti under the name Kolkhida for many years was a member of the Georgian Soviet championship until early 1960s. From 1962 to 1990, they spent 24 seasons in fourth and third divisions of the Soviet football system, including last consecutive 11 years in zone 9 of the Second league, with the 2nd place in 1989 being the best result.[2]

Earning league trophies[]

When GFF formed the national league in early 1990, Kolkheti-1913 took part in an opening game against Iberia Tbilisi. The historic match held at Boris Paichadze stadium ended 1–0 in favour of the guest team.[3] Therefore, Kolkheti became the first club to win a game in the history of Georgian national leagues.

Throughout the first decade, the Kolkhs were considered one of the strongest rivals. Apart from 1992/93, when they finished in 9th place, the club completed each season among top five teams with twice, in 1993-94 and 1996–97, coming second.[4] In this period the team also earned the bronze medals three times.

This success of the club was largely contributed to their sponsors from mid-1990s, the naval port of Poti.

Crisis begins[]

In 2006, after a foreign business company took over the port administration, the football club abruptly lost a significant income.[5] Despite being 10th among 16 clubs in 2005/06, due to the severe financial crisis Kolkheti had to quit the league.[6]

The club climbed back to Umaglesi Liga following the 2009/10 season, but returned to the second league three years later.[7] In 2011, a sponsorship deal with the naval port resumed at a less extent, which lasted for four years.[8]

Battle for survival[]

Kolkheti were back in the top division in 2014-15, although further financial difficulties hit the club in 2018, which pushed them to the verge of bankruptcy. As Kolkheti amassed a large amount of debts, they were deducted six points. Eventually, the team was relegated.[9]

While in Liga 2, Kolkheti still could not afford to pay off debts. In an emergency statement, the club appealed for urgent help.[10] Meanwhile, they were slapped with another 6 points deduction.[11] The overall situation badly affected the team. Three managers were sacked for unsatisfactory results within initial five months of the season.[12] The tide remained unchanged, though. Only in the last matchday did Kolkheti manage to avoid automatic relegation, but after being thrashed by Samgurali Tskaltubo in play-offs they slumped to the third division.[13]

In tier 3[]

In the initial two seasons Kolkheti were among primary promotion-chasers, although in both cases they suffered a setback in pursuit for an automatic promotion slot. The play-off results proved also unsuccessful despite the team's unbeaten aggregate score in the regular time. First they failed to beat WIT Georgia on penalties,[14] and a year later lost in extra time to Rustavi on away goals.[15]

European competitions[]

Based on successful performance in Umaglesi Liga, Kolkheti-1913 represented Georgia on UEFA Cup for four consecutive seasons from 1996 until 2000.

The only victory achieved in this competition against Dinamo Minsk was insufficient for qualifying for the next round. Having lost the first leg 0-1, Kolkheti conceded an early goal at home and scored twice afterwards, but the away goals rule gave a final advantage to their opponents.[16]

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup GS Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zemun 2–3 - 5th
Finland FF Jaro - 0–2
France Guingamp 1–3 -
Romania Dinamo București - 0–2
1997–98 UEFA Cup 1Q Belarus Dinamo Minsk 2–1 0–1 2–2
1998–99 UEFA Cup 1Q Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 0–4 0–7 0–11
1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R North Macedonia Cementarnica 55 0–4 2–4 2–8

Seasons[]

Year Div. F.Position MP W D L GF/GA P Notes
2009/10 2nd, Group A 2nd of 15 28 19 4 5 63-21 61 Promoted
2010/11 1st 7th of 10 36 10 10 16 25-47 40
2011/12 1st 8th of 12 22 6 8 8 19-24 26
2012/13 1st 10th of 10 22 0 4 18 11-43 4 Relegated
Relegation round 6th of 6 32 3 8 21 22-56 17
2013/14 2nd, Group A 2nd of 13 24 17 4 3 51-13 55 Promoted
2014/15 1st 10th of 16 30 9 10 11 31-31 37
2015/16 1st 12th of 16 30 7 6 17 21-41 27
2016 1st, Group Red 4th of 7 12 6 0 6 10-18 18
2017 1st 9th of 10 36 6 8 22 31-73 26 Relegation play-off, won
2018 1st 10th of 10 36 4 8 24 26-76 14 -6 points; Relegated
2019 2nd 9th of 10 36 10 4 22 31-80 28 -6 points; Relegation playoff, lost
2020 3rd 2nd of 10 18 12 2 4 47-18 38 Promotion play-off, lost
2021 3rd 2nd of 10 26 14 7 5 54-28 49 Promotion play-off, lost

Current squad[]

As of June 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Georgia (country) GEO
2 DF Georgia (country) GEO
3 DF Georgia (country) GEO
4 DF Georgia (country) GEO
5 DF Georgia (country) GEO
6 MF Georgia (country) GEO
7 MF Georgia (country) GEO (C)
8 MF Georgia (country) GEO
9 FW Georgia (country) GEO
10 MF Georgia (country) GEO
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW Georgia (country) GEO
12 FW Georgia (country) GEO Nika Kvantaliani
13 MF Georgia (country) GEO
21 MF Georgia (country) GEO
22 MF Georgia (country) GEO
24 FW Georgia (country) GEO
27 DF   Juan Vargas
29 MF Georgia (country) GEO
39 GK Georgia (country) GEO

Managers[]

  • Georgia (country) Gela Sanaia (March - August 2017)
  • Ukraine Oleksandr Shtelin (September - December 2017)
  • Russia Konstantin Galkin (February - March 2018)
  • Georgia (country) Nugzar Tvaradze (March - September 2018)
  • Russia Viktor Demidov (September - December 2018)
  • Georgia (country) Paata Metreveli (February - April 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Soso Pilia (April - June 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Giorgi Krasovski (June - August 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Nugzar Tvaradze (August - October 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Vladimer Chkonia (October - December 2019)
  • Georgia (country) Davit Makharadze (February - October 2020)
  • Georgia (country) Nugzar Tvaradze (October - December 2020)
  • Georgia (country) Giorgi Krasovski (February - June 2021)
  • Georgia (country) Gia Gigatadze since June 2021

The current manager took charge of the team on 6 June 2021. Previously he had worked in different Georgian clubs, including Torpedo Kutaisi, Samgurali Tskhaltubo, Merani Martvili, Dila Gori and Meshakhte Tkibuli.[17]

Honours[]

Georgian Soviet Championship

Winners (2): 1978, 1988[18]

Umaglesi Liga

Runners-up (2): 1993-94 and 1996-97

Third place (3): 1994-95 , 1995-96, 1997-98

Pirveli Liga

Runners-up (2): 2009-2010, 2013-2014 (A Group)

Soviet Second League Zone IX (Caucasus)

Runner-up (1): 1989

Third place (4): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987.

Stadium[]

Fazisi was built in 1961. Its reconstruction got under way in 2013, but it took seven years before the works were completed. Meanwhile, Kolkheti-1913 held their home games on Rugby Arena in Poti or in some neighbouring cities. Football returned to Fazisi in October 2019.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ Georgia - List of Foundation Dates.
  2. ^ "Kolkheti in USSR II league". wildstat.com.
  3. ^ "ასე იწყებოდა: ეროვნული ჩემპიონატის პირველი მატჩი 30 წლის წინ გაიმართა". popsport.com (in Georgian). 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Kolkheti - overall stats". wildstat.com.
  5. ^ "კოლხეთის განცხადება:ისტორიული კლუბი მავანთა გამო კრიზისში ყოფნას არ იმსახურებს". crystalbet.com (in Georgian). 22 October 2019.
  6. ^ "2005/06 season". soccerway.com.
  7. ^ "Umaglesi Liga 2012/13". soccerway.com.
  8. ^ "ფოთის "კოლხეთი" - მილიონერთა ქალაქის გაჭირვებული გუნდი". sportall.ge (in Georgian), 29 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Final table in 2018". eliga.ge.
  10. ^ "შესაძლებელია ქართული საფეხბურთო რუკიდან გავქრეთ". popsport.com (in Georgian). 29 June 2019.
  11. ^ "ფოთის კოლხეთმა ფეხბურთელებთან შეთანხმებას მიაღწია". livepress.com (in Georgian). 20 August 2019.
  12. ^ "ფოთის საფეხბურთო კლუბი მეოთხე მწვრთნელის მოლოდინშია". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 27 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Samgurali vs Kolkheti-1913". flashscore.com.
  14. ^ "2020 play-offs". soccerway.com.
  15. ^ "„ვიტ ჯორჯია" და „რუსთავი" ეროვნულ ლიგა 2-ში დარჩნენ". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 11 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Kolkheti vs Dinamo Minsk". uefa.com.
  17. ^ "კოლხეთი 1913 გიგატაძემ ჩაიბარა". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  18. ^ Georgia - List of Champions - rsssf.com
  19. ^ "ფოთის ცენტრალურ სტადიონზე შვიდი წლის შემდეგ პირველი მატჩი მიმდინარეობს". Georgian Public TV (in Georgian). 6 October 2019.

External links[]

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