Georgia Erovnuli Liga 03/15 14:00 4 [9] Samgurali v Kolkheti Poti [5] D 1-1
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 03/11 17:00 3 [2] Dinamo Batumi v Samgurali [9] L 1-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 03/07 13:00 2 [9] Samgurali v Dila Gori [4] L 0-1
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 03/02 15:00 1 [2] Dinamo Tbilisi v Samgurali [2] L 2-0
Europe Friendlies 02/06 11:00 - Lokomotiv Tbilisi v Samgurali L 4-3
Europe Friendlies 02/06 08:36 - Lokomotiv Tbilisi v Samgurali L 4-3
Europe Friendlies 01/28 11:00 - Dila Gori v Samgurali D 2-2
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 12/02 10:00 36 FC Samtredia v Samgurali W 2-3
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 11/28 10:00 35 [6] Samgurali v Dila Gori [3] W 1-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 11/23 15:00 34 [5] FC Saburtalo Tbilisi v Samgurali [6] D 2-2
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 11/11 10:30 33 [6] Samgurali v Dinamo Batumi [1] W 3-2
Georgia Cup 11/07 16:00 2 FC Saburtalo Tbilisi v Samgurali L 2-1
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 11/03 15:00 32 [3] Torpedo Kutaisi v Samgurali [6] D 0-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 10/29 11:00 31 [6] Samgurali v Dinamo Tbilisi [2] L 0-2
Georgia Cup 10/25 10:30 3 Samgurali v Dinamo Tbilisi W 6-4
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 10/21 13:00 30 [7] FC Telavi v Samgurali [4] L 2-1
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 10/08 11:00 29 [6] Samgurali v FC Shukura Kobuleti [10] W 5-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 10/02 11:30 28 [5] Samgurali v FC Gagra [9] D 2-2
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/28 11:30 27 [5] Samgurali v FC Samtredia [8] L 0-3
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/24 15:00 26 [5] Dila Gori v Samgurali [4] L 2-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/23 11:00 27 Samgurali v FC Samtredia - Postponed
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/17 12:00 25 [5] Samgurali v FC Saburtalo Tbilisi [3] W 1-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/16 11:00 26 Dila Gori v Samgurali - Postponed
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/02 11:00 25 Samgurali v FC Saburtalo Tbilisi - Postponed
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 09/01 17:00 24 [1] Dinamo Batumi v Samgurali [5] L 4-1
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 08/27 13:00 23 [5] Samgurali v Torpedo Kutaisi [6] D 0-0
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 08/26 11:00 24 Dinamo Batumi v Samgurali - Postponed
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 08/19 16:00 22 [4] Dinamo Tbilisi v Samgurali [3] L 5-2
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 08/19 11:00 23 Samgurali v Torpedo Kutaisi - Postponed
Georgia Erovnuli Liga 08/12 13:00 21 [3] Samgurali v FC Telavi [8] L 0-1

FC Samgurali (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი სამგურალი) is a Georgian association football club from Tsqaltubo, which takes part in Erovnuli Liga, the first tier of the national league.

They have been runners-up of the Georgian Cup three times.

History

In Soviet and national leagues

Formed in 1945 as FC Medic, the football club from Tsqaltubo had the most prolific years in the 1980s. Between 1983 and 1990 under the name Shadrevani 83 they became champions of the Georgian Soviet league three times, once finished as runners-up and once won bronze medals.

When Georgian Football Federation formed an independent championship in 1990, Samgurali spent eight out of the initial ten seasons in the top flight. In 1999/2000, they finished in the drop zone and left the league. In this period the team experienced the worst decade in their history as they ceased to exist for four years.

Samgurali gained promotion to the second division in 2010 and stayed there as a stable member for nine successive seasons. The team finished as group runners-up in the 2016 transitional tournament, when the promotion rule was suspended. Two years later they slipped into the relegation zone after the last round. Worse was yet to come, as Samgurali suffered a play-off defeat on away goals.

Despite this setback, following the club's purchase by new owners in the summer of 2019, ambitious promotion plans were unveiled. It took Samgurali a year to climb back to Liga 2. The team came 2nd in the regular season and secured a convincing victory in both play-off ties. The next season brought another triumph. The club prevailed over their opponents again in both games and returned to the first tier after an eighteen-year break. This double promotion in two consecutive years was achieved under head coach Ucha Sosiashvili.

Due to his impressive performance in the league, striker Sergo Kukhianidze became the first Samgurali player who was called up to the national team for friendly games in June 2021.

In 2022, Samgurali had a memorable season, which could have resulted in their first top-league medals since 1990. As primary contenders for the third place, the team needed to play at least a draw in the final day of the season against rivals Dila Gori. But they threw away this initial advantage and ended up fourth for the second time in their recent history.

Georgian Cup

Apart from winning promotion to Erovnuli Liga, the team in 2020 also achieved an impressive success by reaching the final of David Kipiani Cup for the first time since 1999. As in the previous case though, they again lost the final game on penalty shoot-out.

Nor the third attempt made the next year was fruitful. Having won four away games en route to the final, Samgurali were defeated in the regular time with a narrow margin.

Seasons

Season Div Pos P W D L GF GA Pts Top scorer Goals Cup
1990 UL 14/18 34 11 6 17 42 57 39 R3
1991 UL 11/20 19 7 3 9 21 34 24
1991/92 UL 12/20 38 14 6 18 41 55 48 R1
1992/93 UL 4/17 32 18 4 10 73 51 58 Merab Megreladze 41 QF
1993/94 UL, West 8/8 14 1 1 12 12 42 4 QF
11-19 Places 14/19 16 9 1 6 27 29 28
1994/95 UL 16/16 30 5 6 19 30 68 21 R1
1995/96 PL 1/20 38 33 3 2 132 28 102 DNE
1996/97 UL 11/16 30 10 5 15 35 54 35 R2
1997/98 UL 12/16 30 9 7 14 31 50 34 R1
1998/99 UL 11/16 30 10 3 17 32 57 33 RU
1999/2000 UL, A 7/8 14 3 2 9 9 27 11 R1
9-16 Places 13/16 14 8 3 3 17 8 33
2000/01 PL 6/12 22 12 3 7 38 40 39 QF
1-6 Places 3/6 10 5 3 2 13 7 38
2001/02 UL 12/12 22 3 5 14 16 37 14 R2
7-12 Places 11/12 10 5 1 4 11 10 23
2002/03 PL 4/16 30 15 8 7 42 26 53 R1
2003/04 PL 2/16 30 17 7 6 39 19 58 R2
The club was dissolved in 2005-2009
2010/11 PL 14/17 32 8 6 18 38 64 30 DNE
2011/12 PL 7/10 18 6 5 7 27 23 23 Giorgi Bukhaidze 7 DNE
2012/13 PL 6/12 30 13 7 10 59 48 46 Tornike Kapanadze 27 R1
2013/14 PL 7/14 26 11 6 9 49 49 39 Giorgi Bukhaidze 14 R1
2014/15 PL 4/10 36 19 3 14 76 50 60 Giorgi Tevdoradze 17 R1
2015/16 PL 6/18 34 16 3 15 60 46 51 Giorgi Tevdoradze 17 DNE
2016 PL 2/9 16 10 2 4 29 24 32 Mamuka Gongadze 8 R1
2017 L2 4/10 36 16 5 15 46 46 53 Gaga Chkhetiani 12 R5
2018 L2 8/10 36 12 5 19 40 56 41 Gaga Chkhetiani 12 R3
2019 L3 2/10 36 21 7 8 52 29 70 Sergo Kukhianidze 16 R2
2020 L2 2/10 18 8 6 4 23 12 30 Sergo Kukhianidze 7 RU
2021 EL 7/10 36 9 14 13 34 46 41 Sergo Kukhianidze 11 RU
2022 EL 4/10 36 15 12 9 55 44 57 Irakli Rukhadze 13 R3
2023 EL 5/10 36 16 9 11 53 51 57 Giorgi Nikabadze 9 SF

Honours

  • Georgian Soviet Championship
    • Champion: 1983, 1985, 1989
  • Georgian Soviet Cup
    • Champion: 1988, 1989
  • Georgian Cup:
    • Runners-up: 1999, 2020, 2021
  • Erovnuli Liga 2
    • Champion: 1996
    • Silver Medal winner: 1997, 2004, 2020
    • Bronze Medal winner: 2001

Top scorers

With 41 goals scored in the 1992/93 season, Merab Megreladze has been the leading goalscorer not only in the history of Samgurali, but also in the Georgian top football division since its creation in 1990.

Samgurali is a professional soccer team based in the city of Samtredia, Georgia. The team was founded in 1936 and has a rich history in Georgian football. Samgurali plays in the Erovnuli Liga, which is the top tier of Georgian football.

The team's home stadium is the Samtredia Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators. The team's colors are blue and white, and their logo features a lion, which is a symbol of strength and courage.

Samgurali has a strong fan base and is known for their attacking style of play. The team has produced many talented players over the years, including Georgian international midfielder Jaba Kankava.

In recent years, Samgurali has been a consistent performer in the Erovnuli Liga, finishing in the top half of the table on several occasions. The team's current manager is Giorgi Tsetsadze, who has been in charge since 2019.

Overall, Samgurali is a respected and competitive team in Georgian football, with a proud history and passionate fan base.