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FC Dinamo Batumi

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Dinamo Batumi
Founded30 November 1923; 101 years ago (1923-11-30)
GroundAdjarabet Arena
Capacity20,000
OwnerArchil Beridze
ChairmanAslan Baladze
ManagerGia Chiabrishvili
LeagueErovnuli Liga
2023Erovnuli Liga, 1st of 10 (champions)
Websitehttps://dinamobatumi.com/
Current season

FC Dinamo Batumi (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი დინამო ბათუმი) is a Georgian professional football club based in Batumi, Adjara that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top division of the national football system.

The club won the champion's title in 2021 and 2023, the Georgian Cup in 1997–98, and two Georgian Super Cups, in 1997–98 and 2022. In 1990, they changed their name to FC Batumi, only to reverse the decision in 1994.

Dinamo play their home matches at Batumi Stadium.[1]

History

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Early period

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Prior to the formation of this club, there were some other teams existing in the city. In 1923 two newly established clubs called Mezgvauri (The Sailor) and Tsiteli Raindi (The Red Knight) merged and became Dinamo Batumi.[2]

Football was becoming more popular in Adjara later, although Dinamo participated only in the lower divisions of Soviet championship. However, there were some players in the club, who later became successful footballers in USSR, including Revaz Chelebadze, Nodar Khizanishvili and Vakhtang Koridze. The famous Greek footballer Andreas Niniadis also started his career in the club. He later played for Olympiacos and Greece national football team.

The team played the last six seasons of 1980s in the First league, the second Soviet division.[3]

1990s and 2000s

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The success for the Batumi-based club came when they won Georgian Cup in 1998, after losing two previous finals. The club defeated Dinamo Tbilisi in final. The goals were scored by Aleksandre Kantidze and Davit Chichveishvili.[4] The club won Georgian Super Cup during the same year as well. They again defeated Dinamo Tbilisi, by 2–1.[5] As one of the strongest teams of the league, starting from 1995 Dinamo represented the country in European competitions for four consecutive seasons.

The next decade turned out disappointing for Dinamo, which failed to notch up any success on either competition. Amid construction boom in Adjara, in 2006 the club lost their stadium, located at the seaside, to be sold and demolished. The Adeli stadium, which Dinamo started using as their home ground, met the same fate later on.[6] It coincided with deteriorating performance in the league. After 2007-08 they were relegated for the first time to Pirveli Liga, where as debutants the club took 8th place in an 11-team league. Overall, Dinamo spent next five seasons out of six in the second division.

In search for success

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From 2013/14 the club revived their ambitions, first to gain promotion to Umaglesi Liga and then to secure a place among the league leaders. Silver, taken in 2015, was followed by bronze the next year, but in 2017 Dinamo entered a period of instability with a drastic change of players and replacement of managers. Levan Khomeriki, the head coach for three successive years, left to be replaced by Ukrainian manager Kostyantyn Frolov, but he stepped down five months later.[7] Aslan Baladze took charge of the team, which finished the season in the relegation zone, despite having some experienced players such as Otar Martsvaladze, David Kvirkvelia and Elguja Grigalashvili in the squad. Dinamo suffered a worse setback in the play-off as dramatic two-leg tie against Sioni Bolnisi ended 5:5 on aggregate and the penalty shoot-out determined the winner.[8]

Prior to the new season in Liga 2 Gia Geguchadze was appointed in the club[9] and with promotion set as their only goal, Dinamo convincingly won the league by an 11-point margin.[10]

Progress on the pitch and beyond

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2019 brought some more encouraging news. 100% share of Dinamo Batumi owned by the Adjarian government was awarded to Lamini Ltd for 49 years.[11] Besides, a new prospect emerged for the issue of football ground, which had plagued the club for so long. While Dinamo played home matches either on their training base or at Rugby Arena, in January the government inaugurated the construction of a new UEFA category IV stadium with the capacity of 20,000 seats due to be completed in late 2020.

Back in the top flight Dinamo rushed to the title-chasing battle, in which they initially performed beyond expectations. As no other newly promoted club had ever won the league, Dinamo Batumi appeared close to setting this record, although at the crucial point they slipped up, first dropping two points against relegation-bound WIT Georgia and then losing to another unmotivated club altogether.[12] Yet, the second place was definitely success for Dinamo, where some national team members - Jaba Jigauri, Giorgi Navalovski, Vladimer Dvalishvili - emerged at this stage.

Meanwhile, support for the club reached remarkable proportions by Georgian standards. While all of 1,500 seats on Angisa training base were full approximately three hours in advance, many more spectators watched the games from outside the fence. According to some estimates, an average number of fans per each match was around 6,400.[13]

The next season, shortened by coronavirus, saw a scenario resembling the previous one. After ten rounds Dinamo were unbeaten, sitting on the top of the table, but later they suffered two home defeats, including from direct rivals Dinamo Tbilisi, who taking this opportunity sealed the champion's fate.[14]

On 27 October 2020 a long-awaited official opening ceremony was held in Batumi. Finally, the second placed club for two consecutive seasons representing the second largest city proudly moved into their home.[15] In early December UEFA announced that this stadium would host some of U21 European championship matches in 2023.[16]

Champions

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This ultimate triumph was made possible from a third straight attempt. With the same head coach into the fourth season and a largely retained squad, the team had some advantage over their rivals from Tbilisi who were plagued by a frequent change of managers and key players. One point picked up by the latter in four head-to-head matches indicated which side looked stronger this year. Besides, an impressive European campaign boosted the players from Adjara. As a result, seven of them were called up in early September for the national team's World Cup game against Spain.[17]

Inspired by fervent supporters, Batumi won six matches with a large margin, including 8–1, the biggest win of the season, and lifted the Champion's Shield for the first time in their history.[18] Subsequently, their seven players were named in Team of the Season.

Тhe club failed to defend the title in 2022 despite having a nine-point lead over the nearest rivals by mid-season. But they prevailed in another champion's race over the same opponent the next season. Their 2023 campaign was not as smooth as two years earlier, though. The club faced a mounting pressure from the fanbase who voiced their protest against an existing transfer policy after the departure of key players such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Zuriko Davitashvili and Sandro Altunashvili. Eventually, Gia Geguchadze, who had guided Dinamo to five trophies during his five-year tenure, left the club following the second consecutive premature elimination from the European season.[19]

Being in a celebratory mood in view of their 100th anniversary and sitting on top of the table during the whole season, the team under new coach Andriy Demchenko comfortably regained the champion's title and, besides, reached the cup final for the first time in 25 years.[20]

Statistics

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Domestic

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Champions Runners-up Third place Relegated Promoted
Season League Pos. P W D L GF GA P Georgian Cup Super Cup Europe
1990 Umaglesi Liga 6 34 18 7 9 56 28 61 Semi-finals N/A
1991 Umaglesi Liga 5 19 10 2 7 28 21 32
1991–92 Umaglesi Liga 9 38 15 6 17 55 58 51 Quarter-finals
1992–93 Umaglesi Liga 11 32 11 6 15 56 56 39 Runner-up
1993–94 Umaglesi Liga 5 32 16 5 11 63 46 53 Semi-finals
1994–95 Umaglesi Liga 4 30 16 6 8 69 40 54 Runner-up
1995–96 Umaglesi Liga 6 30 16 6 8 68 28 54 Runner-up Runner-up CWC 1st Round
1996–97 Umaglesi Liga 3 30 18 8 4 71 22 62 Runner-up Runner-up CWC 1st Round
1997–98 Umaglesi Liga 2 30 18 7 5 58 19 62 Winner Winner CWC QR
1998–99 Umaglesi Liga 5 30 13 11 6 49 22 50 Quarter-finals CWC QR
1999–00 Umaglesi Liga 4 Semi-finals
2000–01 Umaglesi Liga 7 Round of 16
2001–02 Umaglesi Liga 5 Quarter-finals
2002–03 Umaglesi Liga 8 Round of 16
2003–04 Umaglesi Liga 10 Quarter-finals
2004–05 Umaglesi Liga 8 36 9 12 15 35 33 39 Quarter-finals
2005–06 Umaglesi Liga 6 30 17 7 6 42 21 58 Round of 16
2006–07 Umaglesi Liga 9 26 8 6 12 27 30 30 Semi-finals
2007–08 Umaglesi Liga 13 26 4 4 18 16 51 16 Round of 16
2008–09 Pirveli Liga 8 30 9 9 12 33 42 36
2009–10 Pirveli Liga 5 28 15 8 5 44 17 53 Round of 32
2010–11 Pirveli Liga 5 32 18 9 5 66 18 63 Round of 16
2011–12 Pirveli Liga 1 18 13 3 2 28 9 42 Round of 16
2012–13 Umaglesi Liga 11 32 8 7 17 39 55 31 Round of 16
2013–14 Pirveli Liga 2 26 19 2 5 65 17 59 Round of 16
2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 2 30 18 4 8 40 24 58 Round of 16
2015–16 Umaglesi Liga 8 30 12 8 10 41 32 44 Round of 16 Europa League 1st QR
2016 Umaglesi Liga 3 15 7 5 3 23 7 26 Round of 32
2017 Erovnuli Liga 8 36 10 3 23 28 60 33 Round of 32 Europa League 1st QR
2018 Liga 2 1 36 23 7 6 60 22 76 Round of 16
2019 Erovnuli Liga 2 36 21 7 8 57 31 70 Round of 32
2020 Erovnuli Liga 2 18 10 6 2 29 14 36 Round of 16 Europa League 1st QR
2021 Erovnuli Liga 1 36 21 12 3 73 27 75 Semi-finals Conference League 3rd QR
2022 Erovnuli Liga 2 36 23 8 5 87 34 77 Round of 16 Winner Champions League 1st QR
Conference League 2nd QR
2023 Erovnuli Liga 1 36 21 11 4 83 41 74 Runner-up Runner-up Conference League 1st QR

Top scorers

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Season Div. Player Goals
2011/12 2nd Georgia (country) Mikheil Jorbenadze 8
2012/13 1st Georgia (country) Mikheil Jorbenadze 6
2013/14 2nd Georgia (country) Amiran Abuselidze 8
2014/15 1st Georgia (country) Giorgi Beriashvili 9
2015/16 1st Georgia (country) Giorgi Beriashvili 10
2016 1st Georgia (country) Elguja Lobjanidze, Georgia (country) Temur Shonia 5
2017 1st Ukraine Yaroslav Kvasov 8
2018 2nd Brazil Flamarion 24
2019 1st Brazil Flamarion 17
2020 1st Georgia (country) Jaba Jigauri 8
2021 1st Georgia (country) Jaba Jigauri, Georgia (country) Giorgi Pantsulaia 13
2022 1st Brazil Flamarion 19
2023 1st Brazil Flamarion 17

European campaigns

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Dinamo's European history began with the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup competition. In a memorable home game against Celtic Glasgow more than 15,000 spectators witnessed good attacking football from both sides. The Georgians took the early lead but conceded twice in the first period. They equalized later and came close to the draw, although the Scots scored at the end of the regular time to cruise to victory.[21]

A year later the draw paired Dinamo against PSV Eindhoven. Even though the Dutch side were the ultimate winners, Batumi played decently enough to earn a point in the first game. Goals in this game were scored by Amiran Mujiri and Luc Nilis.[2]

Another remarkable event occurred in 1998 when they beat the powerful Yugoslav team Partizan Belgrade at home.

In 2021, the club narrowly missed out on UEFA Conference League play-offs after an extra-time draw at Sivasspor preceded by a sensational away victory over BATE Borisov.[22]

As of match played 10 July 2024
Competition Pld W D L GF GA
UEFA Champions League 3 0 1 2 2 5
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 12 5 2 5 18 18
UEFA Europa League 5 1 0 4 1 10
UEFA Europa Conference League 10 3 3 4 17 14
Total 30 9 6 15 38 47
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup QR Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Obilić 2–2 1–0 3–2
1R Scotland Celtic 2–3 0–4 2–7
1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup QR Faroe Islands HB Torshavn 6–0 3–0 9–0
1R Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 1–1 0–3 1–4
1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup QR Armenia Ararat Yerevan 0–3[23] 2–0 2–3
1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup QR Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan 1–0 0–2 1–2
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1QR Cyprus AC Omonia 1–0 0–2 1–2
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1QR Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 0–1 0–4 0–5
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1QR Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva — 0–3 —
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1QR San Marino Tre Penne 3–0 4–0 7–0
2QR Belarus BATE Borisov 0–1 4–1 4–2
3QR Turkey Sivasspor 1–2 1–1 (a.e.t.) 2–3
2022–23 UEFA Champions League 1QR Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 1–2 (a.e.t.) 0–0 1–2
UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR Poland Lech Poznań 1–1 0–5 1–6
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1QR Albania Tirana 1–2 1–1 2–3
2024–25 UEFA Champions League 1QR Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 1–0 1–3 2–3
UEFA Conference League 2QR Montenegro Dečić 0–2 0–0 0–2

Crest and colours

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Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Ref
2020-21 Puma Europebet [24]
2022 Errea 7th Heaven Residence
2023 Errea Crocobet

Lixin group

Current squad

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As of 13 August, 2024[25]

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 Mate Turmanidze
2 DF Georgia (country) GEO Nikoloz Mali
4 DF Georgia (country) GEO Luka Kapianidze
5 MF Brazil BRA Alef Santos
6 MF Ukraine UKR Artem Mylchenko
7 FW Senegal SEN Honore Gomis
8 MF Angola ANG Mário Balbúrdia
9 FW Georgia (country) GEO David Mujiri
11 FW Spain ESP Jalen Blesa (on loan from Univ Craiova)
13 GK Georgia (country) GEO Luka Kharatishvili
14 DF Georgia (country) GEO Levan Kharabadze
16 GK Portugal POR Ricardo Silva
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF Albania ALB Uerdi Mara (on loan from Ankara Keçiörengücü)
21 MF The Gambia GAM Bubacarr Tambedou
22 MF Georgia (country) GEO Davit Inaishvili
23 DF Georgia (country) GEO Mamuka Kobakhidze (captain)
25 DF Brazil BRA Wanderson
26 FW Georgia (country) GEO Nika Dumbadze
29 MF Brazil BRA Jean Victor
30 GK Georgia (country) GEO Roin Kvaskhvadze
31 FW Georgia (country) GEO Revaz Injgia
33 MF Brazil BRA Vitinho
35 DF Georgia (country) GEO Revaz Chiteishvili
37 MF Georgia (country) GEO Giorgi Putkaradze
38 MF Georgia (country) GEO Alexander Gugushvilli
40 MF Georgia (country) GEO Dito Pachulia

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Georgia (country) GEO Iva Gelashvili (at Spezia until 30 June 2024)

Managerial history

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Notable managers

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Below is the list of coaches who spent at least two seasons at Dinamo Batumi

  • Shota Cheishvili (1990–94, 1996–99, 2015–16)
  • Valerian Chkhartishvili (1994–96)
  • Giovanni Carnevali [it] (2000–02)
  • Levan Khomeriki (2014–15, 2016–17)
  • Gia Geguchadze (2018–2023)

Recent managers

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Name Nat. From To
Gia Guruli Georgia (country) April 2012 June 2013
Koba Zhorzhikashvili Georgia (country) July 2013 March 2014
Levan Khomeriki Georgia (country) March 2014 June 2015
Shota Cheishvili Georgia (country) July 2015 April 2016
Levan Khomeriki Georgia (country) April 2016 May 2017
Kostyantyn Frolov Ukraine May 2017 October 2017
Aslan Baladze Georgia (country) October 2017 December 2017
Gia Geguchadze Georgia (country) January 2018 August 2023
Andriy Demchenko Ukraine August 2023 October 2024

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "ეროვნული ლიგა, XVI ტური: ბათუმის დინამომ ახალ სტადიონზე გამარჯვება იზეიმა". sportall.ge (in Georgian). 21 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The history of FC Dinamo Batumi". Dinamobatumi.com. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Dinamo Bt in Soviet leagues". wildstat.com.
  4. ^ "Georgian Cup season 1997-98". Msy.gov.ge (Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia). Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Georgian Super 1998". Msy.gov.ge (Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia). Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  6. ^ ""ადელის" სტადიონის ადგილზე აპარტამენტები აშენდება". batumelebi.netgazeti.ge (in Georgian). 11 April 2016.
  7. ^ "ბათუმის "დინამოს" მთავარმა მწვრთნელმა კონსტანტინ ფროლოვმა თანამდებობა დატოვა". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 24 October 2017.
  8. ^ "2017 play-offs". soccerway.com.
  9. ^ "ბათუმის დინამოს გია გეგუჩაძე გაუძღვება". fanebi.com (in Georgian). 13 January 2018.
  10. ^ "2018, Liga 2". flashscore.com. 7 December 2018.
  11. ^ "რა პირობით გასხვისდა "დინამო ბათუმი"". batumelebi.netgazeti.ge (in Georgian). 10 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Erovnuli Liga, 2019". soccerway.com.
  13. ^ "ბათუმის დინამოს საოცარი ისტორია". intermedia.ge (in Georgian).
  14. ^ "Erovnuli Liga, 2020". eliga.ge. 10 December 2020.
  15. ^ "UEFA Category IV stadium opens in Batumi". agenda.ge.
  16. ^ "Romania and Georgia to host U21 finals in 2023". uefa.com. 3 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Spain vs Georgia, Match report". uefa.com.
  18. ^ "ზეიმი ბათუმში – დინამო ბათუმმა საჩემპიონო ფარი ჩაიბარა". netgazeti.ge (in Georgian). 4 December 2021.
  19. ^ "ოფიციალურად: გია გეგუჩაძემ ბათუმის დინამო დატოვა". goal.ge (in Georgian). 21 August 2023.
  20. ^ ""დინამო ბათუმი" საქართველოს ჩემპიონი გახდა". batumelebi.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Dinamo Batumi vs Celtic". worldfootball.net.
  22. ^ "BATE vs Dinamo Batumi, Match report". uefa.com.
  23. ^ Ararat Yerevan were awarded a 3–0 win in the qualifying round first leg after Dinamo Batumi were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player ― Sotogashvili. The match originally ended as a 4–2 win for Dinamo Batumi.
  24. ^ "FC Dinamo Batumi Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  25. ^ "Squad". erovnuliliga.ge.
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