FC Gareji Sagarejo
FC Gareji is a Georgian Association football club from Sagarejo, currently in Erovnuli Liga 2. They play home matches on Arsen Mekokishvili stadium.
 | |
| Founded | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Ground | Arsen Mekokishvili stadium, Sagarejo |
| Chairman | Lazare Datunashvili |
| Manager | Tengiz Kobiashvili |
| League | Erovnuli Liga 2 |
| 2020 | 1st in Liga 3, promoted |
History
Established in 1960, during the USSR Gareji for many years participated in Georgian republican championship and later, after 1990, spent several seasons in the second and third divisions.
A recent rise started from Regionuli Liga, the then forth tier of the Georgian league system, which Gareji won in 2018.
In Liga 4
As winners of D Group East of the regional league,[1] Gareji were promoted to newly created Liga 4. They finished third, outside of the promotion zone, which was still widely regarded as success for the debutants.
| Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|
| Spaeri | Tbilisi City | Gareji |
Further events unfolded unexpectedly. After FC Tskhinvali failed to fulfill their financial obligations, they were expelled from Liga 3 and as a 3rd placed team, Gareji filled up the vacuum.[2]
In Liga 3
Against all odds, the newly promoted team under head coach Tengiz Kobiashvili emerged among the league leaders from the outset of the 2020 season and convincingly prevailed over rivals in the promotion battle by winning 14 games out of 18.[3]
| Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|
| Gareji | Kolkheti-1913 | Gori |
Gareji have completed a stunning journey from the fifth division to Liga 2 within the shortest period of time.
Recent seasons
| Year | League | Pos | MP | W | D | L | GD | P | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Regionuli Liga | 1st | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 84-29 | 48 | Promoted |
| 2019 | Liga 4 | 3rd | 27 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 66-34 | 57 | Promoted |
| 2020 | Liga 3 | 1st | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 33-17 | 43 | Promoted |
| 2021 | Liga 2 |
Georgian Cup
| Season | Round | Match | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | I | Gareji 1-0 Magaroeli Chiatura | |
| II | Gareji 1-2 Algeti Marneuli | ||
| 2019 | I | Gareji 1-0 Bakhmaro | |
| II | Gareji 2-0 Magaroeli Chiatura | ||
| III | Gareji 3-3 Spaeri | Won after penalties | |
| IV | Gareji 2-1 Tbilisi City | ||
| V | Gareji 2-3 Lokomotive Tbilisi | ||
| 2020 | I | Borjomi 0-0 Gareji | Won after penalties |
| II | Gareji 0-0 Merani Martvili | 1-0 after extra time | |
| III | Gareji 0-2 Samgurali Tskhaltubo |
In 2019 Gareji became first ever 4th league team in Georgian football history to reach semifinals of national Cup. The fact that head coach Davit Kokiashvili quit Gareji two days prior to the game may have affected the club, but they offered Lokomotive Tbilisi a decent resistance during the entire match. Despite taking a lead after first 45 minutes, eventually Gareji lost 2–3, after conceding the third goal from a penalty spot.[4]
The next year Gareji were eliminated by Samgurali, runners-up of the Cup.[5]
Players
As of 2020[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other teams
Gareji-2 as a junior team participates in D Group East of Regionuli Liga. In 2020 they finished in 12th place.[7]
External links
References
- https://www.gff.ge/en/championships/regional-league/group-b-east
- "Gareji goes up with new manager". 5 Feb 2020. Retrieved 29 Dec 2020.
- "Gareji 1960 wins Liga 3". Georgian Public TV. 4 Dec 2020. Retrieved 29 Dec 2020.
- "Gareji vs Lokomotive". 23 Oct 2019. Retrieved 29 Dec 2020.
- "Samgurali beat Gareji in 1/4 final". 17 Sep 2020. Retrieved 29 Dec 2020.
- "List of Gareji players". Soccerway.
- https://www.gff.ge/ge/championships/regional-league/group-b-east