Giorgi Oniani ( ka, გიორგი ონიანი; born 7 September 1983) is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

retired

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender, who currently works as the head coach of

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular hea ...

Career

Born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, Oniani began his career with

FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi FC Locomotive Tbilisi is a Georgian football club from the capital, Tbilisi. During the existence of the USSR the club was a part of the Lokomotiv Voluntary Sports Society. The club has strong connections with the Georgian Railways. History Loc ...

. He made a debut in a 5–0 away win over Margveti Zestafoni. In January 2006, he moved to

FC Dinamo Batumi FC Dinamo Batumi is a Georgian football club based in Batumi, Adjara, and current vice-champion of Erovnuli Liga, the top division of Georgian football system. The club has won the league (2021), the Georgian Cup ( 1997-98) and Super Cup (1 ...

and after six months joined

FC Olimpi Rustavi Metalurgi Rustavi is a defunct Georgian football team based in Rustavi, which has twice won the national league. In Soviet times, the club played under the name "Metalurgi" (Rustavi), then during the independence of Georgia, the club was calle ...

In January 2007, he transferred to

FC Sioni Bolnisi FC Sioni is a Georgian football club based in Bolnisi. Following the 2022 season, they were relegated to Erovnuli Liga Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian league system. The team has once claimed the national league champion's title. Sioni play ...

, but stayed only half a year. He then moved to

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Formed in 1903 and initially associated with the Carl Zeiss AG factory, they were one of the strongest clubs in East Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, winning the DDR-Obe ...

in July 2007, He left Jena after one year and moved to

Spartak Nalchik PFC Spartak Nalchik (russian: Профессиональный футбольный клуб "Спартак Нальчик") is a Russian association football club based in Nalchik that plays in the third-tier FNL 2. They played in the Russian ...

. Oniani spent most successful time at

Zestafoni Zestafoni or Zestaponi ( ka, ზესტაფონი, tr, ) is the administrative center of Zestafoni District in Western Georgia. Zestafoni is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Imereti ...

, where he won four trophies, including the national league twice.

Torpedo Kutaisi FC Torpedo Kutaisi is a Georgian professional football club based in Kutaisi, Georgia's third largest city. 'Torpedo Kutaisi' was founded in 1946 and in just three years the club became the winner of the Football Championship of that time. Torp ...

was the last club he played for. On 10 April 2013, during a

Georgian Cup The Georgian Cup (, ''Sakartvelos tasi'') is the main cup competition in Georgia (country), Georgian football (soccer), football. The competition is a knockout (single elimination) tournament. Soviet era cup winners Previous winners are: * 194 ...

quarterfinal game against

Sioni Bolnisi FC Sioni is a Georgian football club based in Bolnisi. Following the 2022 season, they were relegated to Erovnuli Liga Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian league system. The team has once claimed the national league champion's title. Sioni pla ...

, Oniani crashed into a protective pole for nets and lost consciousness. With his neck seriously injured, Oniani underwent three surgeries. His managerial career began in 2018. After two spells at

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...

, in September 2022 he took charge of Liga 2 side Gareji Sagarejo, but in June 2023, with the club under his guidance sitting on top of the table eight points clear in title race, the sides parted company. On 1 August 2023, Oniani was appointed at

Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football F ...

club

as head coach.

Honours

Umaglesi Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football F ...

winner (2):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12 * David Kipiani Cup runner-up (1): 2011–12 *

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

winner (1): 2011–12

References

External links

Profile on Soccerway
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oniani, Giorgi Living people 1983 births Footballers from Tbilisi Men's association football defenders Men's footballers from Georgia (country) Georgia (country) men's under-21 international footballers FC Carl Zeiss Jena players FC Dinamo Batumi players FC Dila Gori players 2. Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany PFC Spartak Nalchik players Expatriate men's footballers in Russia