Noblesse oblige for WIT

By Vakhtang Bzikadze

The motto under the badge of FC WIT Georgia Tbilisi reads 'Noblesse oblige' - 'With honour comes duty' - and it is the club's unique burden to defend the honour of Georgia in the UEFA Champions League this season, starting with a first qualifying round tie against Faroese side HB Tórshavn.

Pet food connection
In winning their first ever domestic title last year, WIT - who take their name from their sponsors, WIT Georgia Inc, who among other things, sell pet food in the Caucasus - became only the third side, after FC Dinamo Tbilisi and FC Torpedo Kutaisi, to take the Georgian title.

European experience
However, the club are no greenhorns in European terms. Making their debut with a 4-1 aggregate UEFA Cup defeat against Beitar Jerusalem in the 2000/01 season, WIT played UEFA Intertoto Cup football in the three subsequent seasons, to ensure that their Champions League debut will not find them lacking experience.

Dramatic win
Five consecutive seasons in Europe is no small achievement for a club only formed in 1997 from the ashes of the defunct FC Morkinali Tbilisi. The manner in which they won their first title was even more dramatic than their rise as they beat FC Sioni Bolnisi 2-0 in a play-off after the two sides finished level on points.

Gotsiridze gone
However, as the club's motto suggests, success brought its own burden. In the closed season, 20-goal striker Revaz Gotsiridze joined Russian side FC KamAZ Naberezhnye Chelny, leaving veteran Vladimer Gochashvili - the only player to have been with the side since its inception - to lead the line.

Players departing
Meanwhile, playmaker Georgi Dekanodidze has left for local rivals FC Ameri Tbilisi, Georgi Adamia is set to join Gotsiridze at KamAZ while goalkeeper Mirza Merlani has joined FC Sepahan in Iran, leaving the long-term second-choice custodian, David Mamardashvili, to take the No1 shirt.

Goalkeeping security
"In the pre-season Mamardashvili was impressive and I think he's lost that syndrome of the substitute goalkeeper," said coach Merab Kochlasvili. "Despite the fact that probably the best goalkeeper in Georgia has left our team, I don't think we will have problems in goal."

Young bucks
To Kochlasvili's delight, Lasha Nozadze and David Digmelashvili have signed new deals at the club, and the coach is now hoping that the products of the WIT youth system will now show their worth in Europe. Under-21 international Otar Martsvaladze has already been tipped as one to watch.

Focus on youth
"We have an untypical but correct strategy," said the club's chairman Dr Guram Rukhadze. "We don't want to spend money on transfers, but instead we rely on our own young players who come through the academy. This is the way to get good result with little money."

Home advantage
A good result against HB would certainly help swell the WIT coffers, and for Kochlasvili, the home leg of the game will be crucial. "The question of who will progress will be decided in Tbilisi," said the coach, who took charge of WIT with six games of last year's campaign to go.

Wisla prospects
Encouragingly, Georgian sides have met Faroese opponents twice before in the competition and won both times. The reward of a game against Polish giants Wisla Kraków in the second qualifying round will doubtless provide further incentive for WIT. "We don't know much about the Faroese side," admitted a WIT representative. "But we know more about Wisla." They will be hoping to learn more about them in the coming weeks.