Zestaponi still possess winning zeal

FC Zestaponi are determined to put this week's Georgian Super Cup loss behind them and continue their rapid ascent by ending the season with silverware.

Late winner
The club have been on the rise ever since they were founded by shareholders of Zestaponi's iron ore plant on 18 June 2004, but their ambitions took a dent on Wednesday when Levan Khmaladze headed a late winner for league champions FC Dinamo Tbilisi in a 1-0 victory. "I'm very disappointed that we conceded a goal in the last minute, but I promise our fans that big wins will come in the future," commented new coach and ex-Dinamo boss Gia Geguchadze.

'Winners' medals'
Despite the setback, Geguchadze sees a bright future for his new charges, who earned their Super Cup berth by lifting last season's Georgian Cup. "I took over one of the best clubs in the country," he explained. "We have good players – a few experienced ones and a lot of talented youngsters who can learn from the veterans. I like the attacking way of playing and hope it will bring us big wins and the love of the fans. Our aim is to get winners' medals."

Makharadze departure
The Georgian title has so far eluded the club in their short history, but they currently lie four points off leaders FC WIT Georgia in third and are keen to build on the achievements of outgoing trainer Temur Makharadze. He arrived at the helm in November 2004 and took the side to the cup final three years in a row, before finally winning it in 2007/08. Zestaponi also finished third in the league last term, but Makharadze recently elected to step down.

Club infrastructure
All the signs suggest the team will continue to prosper without him, with the club benefiting from good infrastructure. Zestaponi currently play in a stadium seating 3,000 fans and featuring an artificial pitch, yet plans to renovate the city's main venue in line with UEFA standards are afoot and a training camp is under construction. Likewise, club officials favour youth development and already have five teams playing in different tournaments – an impressive figure for a town with 25,000 inhabitants.

Deep roots
Perhaps that should not be surprising given the deep roots football has locally. The sport was first played there at the start of the 20th century and the first match with an international flavour was held in 1920, when the town's strongest players took on a British military side. The start of the 1930s signalled the foundation of FC Merckhali and FC Lokomotivi and five years later the town was able to boast an ever bigger outfit in FC Metalurgi Zestafoni.

Metalurgi reborn
Metalurgi ceased to exist after the Georgian Football Association (GFF) split from the Soviet Football Association in 1990, and they were succeeded by FC Margveti Zestafoni, who reached the Georgian Cup semi-finals in 1993 and 1996, as well as finishing runners-up in the championship in the latter year, before being declared bankrupt in 2000. Metalurgi were reborn in 1999, but since 2004 FC Zestaponi have been the local powerhouse and hope to continue their upward trajectory.