Connah’s Quay Nomads face-off against Dinamo Tbilisi in the second round of qualification in the Uefa Europa League on the 17th September at the Racecourse, but who exactly are their opponents?
Dinamo Tbilisi, who were founded in 1925, 95 years ago, are the most successful teams in Georgia and are based in the capital city of the country.
Their stadium, the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena can hold up to a capacity of 54,549. The first game played at the ground was against Cardiff City in 1976, with Tbiisi coming out on top, winning the game 3-0.
They compete in the Erovnuli Liga, which is made up of 10 teams in total and have won the Georgian top-flight a record 17 times. They have also won the Georgian Cup 13 times and the Georgian Super Cup seven times.
Tbilisi currently sit in second place in the Georgian top-flight, one point behind Dinamo Batumi – the league was brought to a halt in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and is now scheduled to finish on the 5th December, 2020.
Each team will now play 18 games, opposed to the planned 36, which was originally scheduled.
The club are nicknamed ‘blue-white’. Their home kit is all blue and their away kit is black.
Who are they managed by?
Tbilisi currently have a caretaker manager, who comes in the form of Fransisco Javier Munoz Llompart. The 40 year-old, former Valencia winger was appointed on the 24th August, 2020, with his contract expiring at the end of this year.
Llompart, who is known as ‘Xisco’ is familiar with Tbilisi, having previously been their assistant manager. The winger also played at the Georgian outfit for three years, between 2011 and 2014, scoring 62 times in 98 appearances.
He will be hoping to guide Tbilisi to yet another league title at the end of this campaign.
Tbilisi’s key players…
One of Tbilisi’s danger men comes in the form of striker, Tornike Kapanadze. The 28 year-old recently joined from Georgian rivals, Torpedo Kutaisi in 2020 after scoring 34 times in three seasons.
He has been in excellent goal-scoring form for Tbilisi’s since his move from FC Torpedo, scoring three times in six outings.
His superb goal-scoring ability will make him a threat to any side he comes up against in European competition this campaign.
Another player who could be considered a threat is attacking midfielder, Nodar Kavtaradze.
The 27 year-old, who joined the club in 2019 from Torpedo Kutaisi, scored 12 times and chipped in with 12 goals and seven assists in 33 appearances last season.
His capability to pick out that vital final ball and technical skill, will allow him to prosper and will make him a threat for any back-line in the Uefa Europa League.
The final player we come to is Giorgi Kutsia. The 20 year-old midfielder played a starring role for Tbilisi, as they won their 17th top-flight title – scoring four goals and setting up a further four in 30 outings.
He has also represented the Georgia national team at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.
Their record in Europe…
Dinamo Tbilisi have had success in Europe in the past. In 1981, they won the European Cup Winners’ Cup final, beating German side Carl Zeiss Jena 2-1 at the Rheinstadion, in Dusseldorf.
In terms of Welsh teams, they defeated Cardiff City 3-1 on aggregate in the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup, in 1976 and more recenty, they beat Llanelli 6-2 on aggregate, despite losing the first leg 2-1, with Jordan Fellows scoring twice for the Reds.
They will now be looking to beat a third Welsh side when they travel to Wrexham to face-off against Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Racecourse ground.
(Featured Image: Emin Allahverdi)
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