Overview
In early February 1990, when Guria were busy with pre-season preparations in Gagra, a nation-wide debate arose whether Georgian teams should continue taking part in Soviet competitions. The Gurians were in a delicate situation when, from one hand, they would not mind exploiting the success resulted from a hard-fought promotion battle in 1989 but, from the other one, could not ignore strong national aspirations directed against anything Soviet. The club seemed divided with the management inclined to opt in favour of the Top League, but it faced opposition from players who also had their say. Eventually, when supporters of a national league idea prevailed, Guria enthusiastically embraced it. [2] They had to go through certain changes, though. Manager Mykhailo Fomenko who had coached the team for last three seasons, as well as several players from other republics departed. Instead, two footballers were signed from Lithuania who likewise broke ties with Soviet football.
As 18 teams from across four divisions formed the Umaglesi Liga, Guria were in a pole position along with Dinamo Tbilisi, now renamed as Iberia. They had an excellent start to the season, winning the opening five games with a 14–0 aggregate score. But then the team stumbled, losing three away matches in a row. The race was still wide open until 19 October when Guria sustained a painful home defeat to Iberia in a must-win tie. [3] With this loss, their remarkable 55-game unbeaten home run stretching from 7 April 1988 also came to an end.
The team took revenge on Iberia in the cup semi-finals with a dominant 3–0 aggregate win and faced Tskhumi in a final game held in Tbilisi. Besik Pridonashvili became a hero again, netting an extra-time winner this time. [4]
Guria under coach Gigla Imnadze ended the season in a jubilant mood, becoming the first Georgian cup holders in history and runners-up of the national league. Midfielder Otar Korgalidze was the team topscorer with 21 goals while young defender Gocha Gujabidze was named Discovery of the Year. [5]
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Mamuka Abuseridze
Romas Mažeikis