We met in Tbilisi with Omari Tetradze, under whose leadership Saburtalo became the main sensation of the Georgian championship. After the first half of the season, his team is in second place, ahead of Dynamo Tbilisi and other favorites and behind only Dynamo Batumi. But we are not only talking about Georgian football. They remembered Dynamo Moscow, Alania, Roma, Anji and other teams where Omari Mikhailovich had the opportunity to play and train. A large company was sitting at the next table, they turned out to be Georgian fans from Rome. lucky guys.
– Look better! Are you racing for the veterans? – No. You know, how his career ended, the desire to play miraculously disappeared, instantly. But the training has not been cancelled. You won’t gain much extra weight. Now, however, a couple of kilograms came to the training camp in the mountains. There was no plus to the exercises of the usual activity of Tbilisi.
– After Kazakhstan, you had a great break as a coach. How is that? He paused to reflect, so to speak. I didn’t push myself anywhere. I thought about who to move on from to avoid past mistakes.
What have you been doing during these five years? – I watched football. Whenever he could, he went to all the games in Moscow, constantly traveled to Turkey for training camps.
– Were there any offers in Russia? – Yes. But not on homework. In any case, not under the one I put in front of me.
— With the exception of Anji, you didn’t have a long stage in one place. Are the reasons always different? – Yes. For example, with the “Volga” at one time we even reached first place in the Premier League, but still we had to leave.
Omari Tetradze (right)
Photo: Sergey Litvak, Championship
— How did Saburtalo come about? – They invited me two years ago. I have a family in Tbilisi, for the New Year, and not only, I always came. Then he did not go, and last winter he could not refuse his friends. After takeoff 10 years ago, the results were gone, they asked to return the European Cups.
– Are you able to? – I took over the team the moment two of the best players left. Gocholeishvili was sold to Shakhtar, otherwise Georgian clubs do not survive today. With one voice, they all shouted that we would fly away. However, for now, we are doing it. They took some young people from the second division, without much practice, but with a lot of desire.
—Who invited you directly to Saburtalo? – Yes, all my close colleagues work here. Sports director Levan Silagadze used to play for Alania and Rubin. Misha Kalakuzashvili worked with me in the youth team of Boris Petrovich Ignatiev. I have also known director Kakha Ameridze for a long time.
— What is the Saburtalo project? – The owner Tariel Khechikashvili is the former Minister of Sports of Georgia. However, the club is completely private. I set myself the task before the season to be in the top three. Initially, it was not on the agenda; after the preparatory period, it was formulated. But even without his decision, our coaching staff could not have had a different opinion.
– Who helps? The same people who worked before me. She invited only a well-known Georgy Navalovsky.
– What kind of football does the Tetradze team play today? Do the views change? “Football doesn’t stop. But the philosophy is the same: play combined football. At the same time in the fastest and most compact. In my time, they selected players who were physiologically strong and resistant. They didn’t even talk about technology, of course. Today you have to look at everything, even the basics of football education. Well, thinking, of course.
saburtalo party
Photo: fcsaburtalo.ge
— Four points behind the leader, Saburtalo has the best goal difference. Balance of defense and attack? – Conceded 21 in 19 games. For me, this is a lot.
“But other leaders missed even more. So what is club soccer in Georgia today? – If it seems to someone that this is an easy championship, then I hasten to disappoint. It is clear that there are two giants – Dynamo Tbilisi and Batumi. But “Dila” and “Torpedo” Kutaisi are also at a decent level – strong European clubs have now reached the Conference League. And in terms of infrastructure, there is a huge gap, if you don’t take two Dynamos.
– What chances does the Georgian team have of getting into the Euro 2024 final, given Scotland’s great advantage and the presence of the Spanish in their group? “Even if there is a one in a hundred chance, they will fight. The team is fighting and playing. You have seen the youth championship, you know how much the approach of the institute of national teams has changed here.
But who particularly stood out at the Junior European Championships:
Future Bayern, Liverpool and Juventus stars? Where could the best talents of the Eurocopa go?
– Today, Georgian footballers are more in demand in Europe than Russian ones? – Definitely. They have been followed from 15-18 years old, youth and youth teams are in full view. And who sees the Russian youth? And the boys deserve to play in European championships. Not only Khvicha – Davitashvili, Mikutadze is proving this in France today.
– Is it correct that Kvaratskhelia signed a long-term contract with Napoli after such a season? – He did not tie his hands and feet with this – a common practice. And it’s absolutely true that it didn’t break anywhere after the first season. Now the second is important. If you confirm the level, the proposals will be the most serious. But we must prepare for a more difficult season and for closer care.
– Because of you, he failed the finish line from the past? — No, affected fatigue. From my own Italian experience, although not the richest, I know.
Jvicha Kvaratskhelia
Photo: Tullio Apulia/Getty Images
– A terrible injury prevented him from revealing himself in Roma at the peak of his career. Surely you consider others as the main commands of your life? – Dynamo Tbilisi opened the way for me to great football. He immediately won the European Junior Championship with Ignatiev. And then, at the world championship, you yourself remember what happened against the Nigerians – they led 4: 0, played 4: 4 and flew on penalties. Well, and then an invitation from Valery Georgievich Gazzaev to Dynamo Moscow, Alania with gold and silver, an unfortunate injury, Greek PAOK, a return to Vladikavkaz, Anji, Wings of the Soviets under Gadzhi Muslimovich.
Great interview “for life”:
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– Where is the family now, children, what are you doing? – My son plays football here, the youngest daughter is also in Tbilisi at the law faculty, the eldest has been in America for a long time.
– How do you perceive the influx of Russians in Tbilisi and Georgia in general? – For me, both Georgia and Russia are equally loved. We were born in the USSR, most people here accept Russians with open arms. You just need to respect the culture of the country you are visiting and not come with your own letter.
