FC Merani Martvili
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| Full name | Football Club Merani Martvili | ||
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| Founded | 2006 | ||
| Ground | Municipal Stadium Martvili, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 1,850 | ||
| League | Erovnuli Liga 2 | ||
| 2020 | 8th | ||
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FC Merani Martvili is a Georgian association football club based in Martvili, currently participating in Liga 2, the second division of Georgian league system.
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 Pridon Injia in 2006.[1]
In their first season in Pirveli liga under head coach Malkhaz Zhvania Merani came the third and until the promotion to Umaglesi Liga in 2011/12 they were among 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 got promoted to the top flight.
During the five following seasons in Umaglesi Liga Merani achieved the best result in their first year, reaching 5th place, while in other cases the club was mostly involved in relegation groups.
In 2015/16 Merani were relegated. The same year, though, they managed to book a place in the Cup final after having eliminated Dila, Kolkheti-1913 and Chikhura in previous rounds. Torpedo Kutaisi won the game held in Zestafoni and clinched the Cup.[3]
Merani came close back to Erovnuli Liga in 2017, although they were unable to beat Kolkheti Poti in promotion play-offs.[4]
At the end of the next season Merani lost last two league games and surprisingly finished at the bottom of the table, which implied an automatic relegation.[5]
After one year spent in Liga 3 Merani returned to the second division. In 2020 they retained a place in it after the victory over FC Gori in a play-off tie.[6]
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.[7]
Seasons
Season League Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA P Cup Notes 2007/08 Pirveli Liga 3 27 13 5 9 36 25 44 2008/09 Pirveli Liga 3 30 18 6 6 45 24 60 Quarter-finals 2009/10 Pirveli Liga 3 28 17 2 9 44 31 53 Semi-finals 2010/11 Pirveli Liga 2 32 22 7 3 60 15 73 Round of 16 Promoted 2011/12 Umaglesi Liga 8 28 6 3 19 31 55 21 Quarter-finals 2012/13 Umaglesi Liga 8 22 7 2 13 23 36 23 Round of 32 Relegation group 2013/14 Umaglesi Liga 12 22 4 3 15 16 41 15 Round of 8 Relegation group 2014/15 Umaglesi Liga 11 30 9 9 12 29 33 36 Round of 16 2015/16 Umaglesi Liga 15 30 5 8 17 28 62 23 Round of 32 Relegated 2016 Liga 2 White Group 4 16 9 5 2 31 11 26 Runner-up Relegation play-off, won 2017 Liga 2 2 36 24 8 4 67 16 80 Round of 8 Promotion play-off, lost 2018 Liga 2 10 36 8 12 16 36 47 36 Round of 16 Relegated 2019 Liga 3 1 36 26 4 6 78 24 82 Round of 8 Promoted 2020 Liga 2 8 18 6 6 6 23 20 30 Round of 32 Relegation play-off, won
Current squad
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
Merani playes home matches on Murtaz Khurtsilava stadium, which has the capacity of 1,850 seats.
In February 2017 this arena hosted the Georgian Super Cup game between Samtredia and Torpedo Kutaisi.[8]
Honours
- Pirveli Liga
- Silver Medal winner: 2011
- Bronze Medal winner: 2008, 2009, 2010
- David Kipiani Cup
- Runners-up 2016
Managers
Malkhaz Zhvania (July 1, 2007–Oct 7, 2013)- Zurab Ionanidze (2014)
Name
Merani is a Georgian word for pegasus.
References
- ^ "History of the club". fcmerani.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Georgian Cup 2009-10". soccerway.com.
- ^ "Torpedo win a new title". kutaisipost.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Merani vs Kolkheti". eliga.ge.
- ^ "Pirveli liga 2018". soccerway.com.
- ^ "Merani to remain in Liga 2". 1tv.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Jesi Surmava confirms the take-over". 1tv.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Super Cup game to be held in Martvili". goal.ge.