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Murtaz Khurtsilava

Murtaz Khurtsilava
Khurtsilava in 1973
Personal information
Full name Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava
Date of birth (1943-01-05) 5 January 1943 (age 81)
Place of birth Bandza, Martvili District, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1975 Dinamo Tbilisi 293 (15)
1975–1976 Torpedo Kutaisi 47 (4)
Total 340 (19)
International career
1965–1973 USSR 69 (6)
Managerial career
Lokomotiv Samtredia
1977 Dinamo Zugdidi
1982 Guria Lanchkhuti
1987–1989 Dinamo Tbilisi (assistant)
1997–1999 Dinamo Tbilisi
1999 Lokomotivi Tbilisi
1999–2001 Georgia U21
2001–2003 Georgia (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava (Georgian: მურთაზ ხურცილავა, Russian: Муртаз Калистратович Хурцилава, born 5 January 1943) is a Georgian former footballer who played as a defender.

Khurtsilava was discovered while playing football in the school garden in Gegechkori, a small town in Caucasus – now known as Martvili – where he learned to play football with a ball made of hay and rags.[1]

He was part of the USSR side that finished fourth at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, third at the 1972 Summer Olympics[2] and second in the 1972 UEFA European Championship. After the UEFA Euro 1972 along with his teammates by Soviet Union national teamRevaz Dzodzuashvili and Evgeni Rudakov — he was included in the team of the tournament, where also were presented such great players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeness and Günter Netzer.[3] He was also one of the only two Georgians, alongside Alexandre Chivadze, to have captained the Soviet Union national team. At the club level he played for Dinamo Tbilisi.

After retiring in 1977, Khurtsilava set up his own business in Tbilisi, where he now resides with his family.[1]

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Georgia by the Georgian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.[4]

Honours

Dinamo Tbilisi

Soviet Union

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b Firat Yalgin (21 February 2011) Memorable Players : Murtaz Khurtsilava. kontrataka.net
  2. ^ Murtaz Khurtsilava. sports-reference.com
  3. ^ "TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT of the 1972 UEFA European Championship". uefa.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  4. ^ Golden Players take centre stage. uefa.com. 29 November 2003
  5. ^ "Statistics from RSSSF".
  6. ^ "1972 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 23 January 2015.