FC Mertskhali Ozurgeti

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Football Club Mertskhali Ozurgeti
FC Mertskhali.png
Founded1936
Ground Megobroba Stadium
Ozurgeti, Georgia
Capacity3,500
ManagerDavit Surguladze
League Liga 4
202411th of 15, Liga 4

FC Mertskhali (Georgian :საფეხბურთო კლუბი მერცხალი ოზურგეთი; English: Swallows) is a professional football club based in Ozurgeti, Guria, Georgia. The team competes in Liga 4, the fourth tier of Georgian football.

Contents

Mertskhali have spent four seasons in Umaglesi Liga, the top Georgian division.

History

Early period

Founded in 1936, the team finished 2nd in Division 2 in 1938 and advanced to the main league of the Soviet Georgian championship.

In 1958, they claimed their first bronze medals. In the next two years Mertskhali twice clinched the Republican Cup. Also, in 1964 and 1966 the club again came the third, and in 1967 became a winner of the league, which paved the way for their participation in the Soviet championship.

Mertskhali played there for seven consecutive seasons and later, in the 1980s, spent five more years in the third tier of the Soviet league system. Twice they came close to the promotion to the First League, including through a promotion play-off spot secured in 1985. [1]

The period between 1982 and 1987, when the team under long-time manager Bakhva Giorgadze secured five medals, is considered most remarkable in the club's history. [2]

Since 1990

After Georgia restored its independence, the club played in Umaglesi Liga during the first three seasons after 1990 and also in 2003–04. Between 2007 and 2009 Mertskhali participated in the third tier, followed by nine successive seasons in Pirveli Liga. Most noteworthy among them was the 2011–12 season when they finished 2nd and booked a place in promotion play-offs. [3]

For the next three years the club was mainly in mid-table, although dismal performance in the 2015–16 season resulted in relegation to Meore Liga. Prior to the new season drastic changes were made, including appointment of well-known coach Khariton Chkhatarashvili as a manager. [4] He guided the team to the second place, but according to regulations introduced for this transitional season, only group winners could stay up. For this reason Mertskhali dropped down further to the fourth division, thus suffering two consecutive relegations within two years. It worsened the financial situation as well. The club was proposed for sale in early 2019, [5] although unsuccessfully.

Mertskhali's tenure in the regional league lasted seven years before the club won 21 out of 24 matches, finished their league campaign on top of the table and advanced to Liga 4. [6]

Seasons

YearLeaguePosMWDLGF–GAPts Domestic Cup
2009/10 Pirveli Liga 9/1528941529–45312nd round
2010/11 Pirveli Liga13/1732881641–68321st round
2011/12 Pirveli Liga A2/1018122424–17381st round
2012/13 Pirveli Liga B8/12305101537–52251st round
2013/14 Pirveli Liga A9/1324721529–54231st round
2014/15 Pirveli Liga B5/10361391445–68481st round
2015/16 Pirveli Liga18/18↓34682042–77261st round
2016 Meore Liga Group B2/8↓14102229-1532–
2017 Regionuli Liga West A13/1528841648–66282nd round
2018Regionuli Liga West C6/81435616–2114–
2019Regionuli Liga West8/111040616–22121st round
2020Regionuli Liga West6/61010911–373–
2021Regionuli Liga West7/924611730–6019–
2022Regionuli Liga Group C8/112085733–4529 1st round
2023Regionuli Liga Group C1/13↑242121109–1965–
2024 Liga 4 11/15281141357–6437 1st round

Honours

Notable players

National team member Irakli Zoidze started his professional career in this club in 1990.

Stadium

The Megobroba (literally "Friendship") football ground with the capacity of 10,000 seats was built in 1968, [7] although later after the reconstruction it was reduced to 3,500.

Names

1938-46 Makharadze* district team

1946-47 Dinamo

1947-54 Makharadze district team

1954-59 Kolmeurne

1960 Sikharuli

1961-93 Mertskhali

1993-95 Anako

Note: Makharadze was the Soviet-time name for Ozurgeti.

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References

  1. ↑ "Mertskhali in Soviet second league". wildstat.com.
  2. ↑ "ოზურგეთის "მერცხალის" დიდი ეპოქა დასრულდა". guriismoambe.com (in Georgian), 4 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "2011-12 play-offs". soccerway.com.
  4. ↑ "ხარიტონ ჩხატარაშვილი: ვერ გაართვეს დაკისრებულ მოვალეობებს თავი". gurianews.com (in Georgian), 25 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "ოზურგეთის მერცხალი შესაძლოა გაიყიდოს". crystalsport.ge (in Georgian), 3 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "ოზურგეთის "მერცხალმა" მორიგი გამარჯვება მოიპოვა!". alion.ge (in Georgian). 15 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "როდის დაარსდა ოზურგეთის "მერცხალი" – პირველი ნაბიჯები და წარმატება". guriismoambe.com (in Georgian), 27 July 2021.
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