FC Chikhura Sachkhere
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| Full name | Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 | ||
| Ground | Central Stadium Sachkhere, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Chairman | Nugzar Dekanoidze | ||
| Manager | Vladimer Zabakhidze | ||
| League | Liga 4 | ||
| 2022 | Liga 3, 16th (relegated) | ||
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Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere, commonly known as Chikhura Sachkhere or simply Chikhura, is a Georgian football club based in Sachkhere.
After the 2022 season they were relegated to Liga 4, the fourth tier of Georgian league system.
History
Founded in 1938, during World War II the club was disbanded, but later they resumed participation in low leagues of the republican championship.[1]
Since 2002 Chikhura has been financed by the Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili. [1]
The club spent many years in lower divisions before getting promoted to Umaglesi Liga in 2012. The league gained a stable and decent member, known as a tough rival for championship title candidates. From the outset the club proved they were going to challenge the best teams. In 2013 Chikhura knocked out top flight sides Shukura, Dila and Sioni and reached David Kipiani Cup final.[2] Despite the defeat from Dinamo Tbilisi, they qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1st round. This was the first season that Chikhura Sachkhere appeared in European Competition with their first opponent being Liechtenstein's Cup Winners Vaduz.
From now until 2020 the club started regularly taking part in UEFA Europa league competitions, missing out just one season in between. In almost each case this provincial team with relatively negligent financial resources, which played their matches mostly in far-away Tbilisi, could afford to show a fighting spirit against their far stronger opponents. In this regard Chikhura drew attention and respect from Georgian fans during the European campaign regardless of who they supported in the domestic league. Interestingly, according to the statistics, the club achieved better results in away games.[3]
In 2014 Chikhura eliminated Turkish club Bursaspor in the second round of Europa League competition. [4] This remains one of the most memorable successes in the club's history.
In 2016 Chikhura won White Group of the league by finishing six points clear of Dinamo Tbilisi and took part in championship play-offs, where they were beaten by Samtredia. This was the closest point to champion's title the club have ever reached in their history.[5]
The next season Chikhura finally reaped the fruits of their efforts. After reaching the finals or semifinals of the Cup for five successive seasons, they clinched their first title. Goalkeeper Dino Hamzić, who did not concede a single goal during the entire campaign, was named man of the match.[6]
Giorgi Gabedava became another player, who was awarded following the 2018 season. He won in four nominations, including as the best striker of the season and top scorer with the latter shared with Budu Zivzivadze.[7] In the summer the club made headlines yet again, this time after their victory over Beitar Jerusalem and a home draw with Maribor Ljubljana.
2019 marked the beginning of the crisis. While thrashed by Aberdeen in Europa league, Chikhura failed to achieve anything noteworthy either in Erovnuli Liga or the Cup and with several key players departed, head coach Samson Pruidze left the club. The former Torpedo Kutaisi right-back had trained Chikhura for twelve seasons, an absolute record in national football history since the independence, which made him a legend among this generation of Georgian managers.[8]
In 2020 Chikhura played all home games in Tbilisi and in the worst result in years finished in the drop-zone. Although the club avoided an automatic relegation, they suffered a defeat in both play-off games from in-form Samgurali.[9] Following this season defender Shota Kashia, who had spent eight seasons in Chikhura, including last six years as a captain, parted ways with the club.
Chikhura's woes stretched into the next two years, which resulted in further two relegations.[10]
Statistics
Domestic
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA P Cup Europe Notes Manager 1993–94 2nd West 13 26 3 2 21 16 70 11 Relegated 1995–96 2nd West 19 38 10 3 25 62 124 33 Relegated 2001–02 3rd West 2002–03 3rd West Promoted 2003–04 2nd 6 30 15 5 10 41 29 50 Round of 32 2004–05 2nd 8 30 12 7 11 38 35 43 Round of 32 2005–06 2nd 1 34 24 6 4 87 34 78 Round of 16 Promoted 2006–07 1st 12 26 5 6 15 13 46 21 Quarter-finals Relegated 2007–08 2nd East 5 27 12 7 8 40 37 43 Round of 32 2008–09 2nd East 2 30 19 7 4 56 21 64 Round of 16 Samson Pruidze 2009–10 2nd 6 28 14 7 7 41 28 49 Quarter-finals Samson Pruidze 2010–11 2nd 4 32 20 6 6 58 25 66 Round of 16 promotion play-off, lost Samson Pruidze 2011–12 2nd 1 14 8 2 4 25 15 26 Round of 16 Promoted Samson Pruidze 2012–13 1st 4 32 17 6 9 49 38 57 Runner-up Samson Pruidze 2013–14 1st 4 32 13 7 12 56 50 46 Runner-up Europa League 2nd QR Samson Pruidze 2014–15 1st 5 30 13 7 10 39 36 46 Semi-finals Europa League 3rd QR Samson Pruidze 2015–16 1st 4 30 17 6 7 53 26 57 Semi-finals Samson Pruidze 2016 1st 2 14 9 3 2 29 15 30 Semi-finals Europa League 1st QR Samson Pruidze 2017 1st 5 36 17 4 15 47 54 55 Winner Europa League 1st QR Samson Pruidze 2018 1st 4 36 19 7 10 54 33 64 Round of 16 Europa League 2nd QR Samson Pruidze 2019 1st 5 36 12 11 13 48 44 47 Round of 16 Europa League 2nd QR Samson Pruidze 2020 1st 9 18 3 4 11 18 40 13 Semi-finals Play-off, relegated Vakhtang Turmanidze 2021 2nd 10 36 2 4 30 24 98 10 Round of 16 Relegated Vakhtang Turmanidze, Mirian Mikadze 2022 3rd 16 30 0 1 29 19 119 1 Second round Relegated Vladimer Zabakhidze
European competitions
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 26 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Vaduz
|
0–0 | 1–1 |
| 2Q |  Thun
|
1–3 | 0–2 | ||
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Horizont Turnovo
|
3–1 | 1–0 |
| 2Q |  Bursaspor
|
0–0 | 0–0 [a] | ||
| 3Q |  Neftchi Baku
|
2–3 | 0–0 | ||
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Zimbru Chișinău
|
2–3 | 1–0 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Rheindorf Altach
|
0–1 | 1–1 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Beitar Jerusalem
|
0–0 | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  Maribor
|
0–0 | 0–2 | ||
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Fola Esch
|
2–1 | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  Aberdeen
|
1–1 | 0–5 |
- Notes
Honours
- Runners-up (1): 2016
- Winners (1): 2013
Players
- As of 7 August 2021[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Stadium
The team's home ground is the 2,000-seat Central stadium, although in recent years they played home games at Ivantsminda stadium, situated in six km from the district center.
Name
The club have had different names throughout their history, including "Spartaki", "Kolmeurne", "Peikari". [1]
Chikhura is the name of a river in Sachkhere.
References
- ^ a b c "საჩხერის ნაკრებიდან უმაღლესი ლიგის გუნდამდე". FCChikhura.ge. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ "Georgian Cup 2012/13". soccerway.com.
- ^ "Chikhura statistics in UEFA competitions". wildstat.com.
- ^ Chikhura - Bursaspor (UEFA Match Report)
- ^ "Erovnuli liga 2016". flashscore.com.
- ^ "დინო ჰამზიჩი ფინალის საუკეთესო მოთამაშეა". 1tv.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "გაბედავამ ერთდროულად 4 ნომინაციაში გაიმარჯვა". goal.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "ოფიციალურად: 12 წლის შემდეგ ჩიხურა სოსო ფრუიძემ დატოვა". worldsport.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "2020 play-offs". eliga.ge.
- ^ "ოფიციალურად: საჩხერის ჩიხურა ეროვნულ ლიგა 3-ში დაქვეითდა". live.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Chikhura squad members". eliga.ge.