FC Samgurali Tskhaltubo

In Soviet and national leagues

Formed in 1945 as FC Medic, the football club from Tskaltubo 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 the 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…