History
Football clubs from Martvili have previously been called Salkhino Gegechkori (Soviet times), Chkondidi Martvili and Salkhino Martvili.
FC Merani was founded by Georgian ex-minister of communications Fridon Injia in 2006. [1]
In their first season in Pirveli liga under head coach Malkhaz Zhvania, Merani came 3rd and until the promotion to Umaglesi Liga in 2011/12 they stayed among the top five clubs.
In 2010, Merani became a first II league club to play in David Kipiani Cup semifinals where they lost 1–2 on aggregate to WIT Georgia, the Cup winners of the season. [2] The next year Merani successfully completed their season and as a second-placed team gained promotion to the top flight.
During the next five seasons in Umaglesi Liga Merani achieved the best result in their first year when they came 5th during the regular season and earned a place in the championship round. In other cases, the club was mostly involved in relegation battles.
In 2015/16, Merani were relegated. In the same year, they managed to reach the Cup final after having eliminated Dila, Kolkheti 1913 and Chikhura in previous rounds, but in the title-deciding game held in Zestaponi the team was beaten by Torpedo Kutaisi. [3]
Merani came close back to Erovnuli Liga in 2017, although they were unable to beat Kolkheti 1913 in promotion play-offs.
At the end of the next season Merani lost the last two league games and surprisingly finished at the bottom of the table, which implied an automatic relegation. [4] After one year spent in Liga 3 though they returned to the second division.
In early 2021, Pridon Injia quit the club and Jesi Surmava, the head of Martvili Football School, took over the management, which resulted in major changes among both staff and squad members. [5] 27 year-old head coach Tsotne Moniava in his first year in charge of a professional club was named the Manager of Round IV (October–December) after guiding Merani to the bronze medals and promotion playoffs. Besides, Merani's two players were included in the symbolic team. [6] Despite a two-goal advantage achieved at home after the first game against Torpedo Kutaisi, the club suffered a heart-breaking extra-time defeat during a dramatic and action-packed return leg. [7]
Two years later, Merani suffered an automatic relegation, although after a single season in Liga 3 snatched a last-gasp aggregate play-off victory over Shturmi to seal promotion back to the 2nd division. [8]
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