Temuri Ketsbaia

Name: Temuri Ketsbaia

DOB: 18/03/68

POB: Gali, Georgia

Position: Attacking midfielder

Clubs: Dinamo Tbilisi, Anorthosis Famagusta, AEK Athens, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Dundee.

International Caps: 49

Ketsbaia started his career
at Dinamo Tbilisi after coming through the ranks at Georgia’s most successful club. At
the time the country was still a member of the Soviet
Union and the team was at one of their lowest points in the Soviet
Top League. Six years removed from winning the Cup-Winners Cup, Tbilisi were
struggling to get into the European spots, but this was all to change when the
former USSR broke apart and the Georgian League began in 1990. The club, with
Ketsbaia now a constant member of the attack, won the first three league
championships and the domestic double in his final year.

The form of the up-and-coming midfielder earned him a move to Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta. He
would stay only two years before moving upwards again (to AEK Athens) but it
was to prove an important time in his life as it was during his initial stay in Cyprus that he met his wife,
a romance that has stayed together since.

Three years in Greece brought
further cup success before the Bosman ruling opened up Ketsbaia to a world of
opportunities. One particular admirer was Kenny Dalglish as the Scotsman was
looking to rebuild the Newcastle United team that had floundered since
going so close to a league championship just over a year previous. It was
during his time on Tyneside that Ketsbaia indulged in a little over exuberance
that would become the iconic moment of him in British football.

Playing against Bolton, the substitute fired home after a defensive mix
up from the visitors. The Georgian then whipped off his top, threw it into the
crowd, tried to remove his boot, failed, and proceeded to start lashing out at
the advertising boards, kicking them three times.

“That was something I was very
disappointed in,” he later said of the infamous celebration. 

“I
just expressed myself, but perhaps it was not the best way to express myself.
But it happened. It is in the past. I just want to think about all the good
things I had at Newcastle.”

And there were indeed good times. The Newcastle fans loved
their temperamental Georgian who possessed some terrific abilities and could
often change a game from the bench. Had he embraced the role of impact player
then things might have gone better for him at St James’s. Ruud Gullit took
over from Dalglish but didn’t play Ketsbaia any more and when the Dutchman was
ousted for Bobby Robson the player decided he’d had enough trying to impress
each new manager on this merry-go-round.

He moved down to the
First Division with Wolves, but once again was the victim of manager turnover
when Colin Lee was jettisoned and Dave Jones took his place at Molineaux. The
club were still in the First Division but Jones wasn’t impressed with the
midfielder who possessed apparent Premier League pedigree and looked to move
him on.

There was almost a move
to Hearts with Wolves stepping up their long running interest in Colin
Cameron. Jones wanted to move Ketsbaia as a make-weight in the deal, a move Hearts were not open to. The Gorgie club’s main reasons for selling were
the player’s desire to further his career and the money that it would save. Bringing on a player who still wanted to be paid English top flight money
would not be a solution.

Instead he went to Dundee to join Ivano Bonetti’s foreign legion. In his
time as Dens Park boss the Italian had brought in
Claudio Caniggia, Juan Sara, Fabian Caballero, Georgi Nemsadze and a host of
others. They were just about to add Fan Zhiyi to their ranks and had their
sights set on Ketsbaia as well. It would take £10,000 pounds a week to convince
the player – who was open to playing alongside fellow countryman Nemsadze – a figure that was nothing to the free-spending Dundee
board who would later be forced to regret their gambles. The club had finished
in sixth place the season before and they had their sights set on an Old Firm
challenge.

Ketsbaia made his debut
as Dundee won away at Easter Road. The new
signing slipped right into the starting line-up, playing on the left-wing of a
five man midfield with Caballero up top. He impressed in his first match and it
would not be the only time. When it worked Ketsbaia could be brilliant at Dundee. His artistry was unmatched by many players in the
league and it could bring a perfect balance when paired with the likes of Gavin
Rae who could do the fighting and scraping.

Unfortunately for Dundee, and ultimately Bonetti, there were too many
players who liked to play the game on the peripheries and the lacked the fight in the harsh world of the Scottish Premier League. The team that had
finished sixth the year before and plowed in yet more fanciful resources into
the next campaign suddenly found themselves fighting for their top flight
status after a terrible run brought only three wins in 17 fixtures.

Things turned around as the spring drew near. Dundee
began picking up points and had Ketsbaia to thank in particular for a 2-0 home
win against Motherwell when the Georgian turned on a scintillating performance,
scoring twice and running the show to relieve some of the pressure on team and
manager. It was both a sight to see and a source of frustration for the home support. Ten
thousand pounds a week was enough to demand this type of performance every game, not
every couple of months. Life then replicated a sports movie with no moral compass by making this his last game for the club.

Injured on duty with Georgia
the midfielder was forced to sit out the rest of the season and later rejected
a new two year contract as player-coach following the dismissal of Bonetti in
the summer. Instead he decided to return to Cyprus to enable his wife to be
closer to home. Joining Anorthosis for a second time.

His first season saw a
second place finish and success in the Cypriot Cup. The regression the next
campaign saw another manager fired. This time it proved to be an opportunity
for the player and he accepted the offer from the club’s board to become
player-manager, winning the title in his first season and setting up a
Champions League qualifying tie with Rangers.

After a disappointing
2-1 defeat in the home game, Ketsbaia took the team on his back during a
terrific first half performance at Ibrox. The attacker did everything but score
and the advantage that had seemingly assured passage for Rangers suddenly
became precarious. Thomas Buffel’s goal before half-time settled the tie and
settled the home side, who easily saw out the second half 2-0 winners.

In the 2008/09 season
he became the first manager to lead a Cypriot team into the group stages of the
Champions League. In fact the team were a win away from progressing to the
knock-out stages before defeat in their final match knocked them out of Europe altogether. From those near incredible highs came
despairing lows when the club president was arresting following
allegations of financial irregularities. Ketsbaia had long been a supporter of
his former boss and decided that he was no longer willing to work for the club
if he were not working for him. One year later Ketsbaia’s incredible achievements as player and manager were recognised when Anorthosis decided to make his former shirt number, 14, the first to be retired.

Shortly after leaving
Anorthosis he travelled across the Mediterranean
to sign a three year deal with Olympiakos. Bizarrely, he left only six games
into his new job with the club yet to concede a goal in his tenure. The Greek
fans had been used to watching their team flatten competition across the
country and expected a bit of style while doing so. When they criticised the
coach for defensive football he decided they weren’t worthy of his talents and
left.

Where is he now? In
November 2009 he took over the Georgian National Team, a job he is still in now
– making him the longest serving boss in national team history. Georgia are currently 4th in their WC
qualifying group but are favourites to defeat Finland
in their final game and finish in third place behind Spain
and France.

Show: One Big Christmas Present