Otar Gabelia ( ka, ოთარ ამბროსის ძე გაბელია; born 24 March 1953) 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 ...

football manager and a former player. He was a long-time goalkeeper for

Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 i ...

. Winner of the Best Soviet Goalkeeper Award (1979), Gabelia is regarded by pundits as one of the best Georgian goalkeepers of all time.

Playing career

Gabelia spent his club career at

FC Dinamo Zugdidi FC Dinamo Zugdidi is a Georgian football club based in Zugdidi. Their club competeted in Liga 3 from 2023 after didn't play all matches in Erovnuli Liga 2 later automatically relegation. History * 1918–??: ''Odishi Zugdidi'' ( ka, ოდიშ ...

, playing from 1970 to 1971, at

FC Dinamo Sukhumi FC Dinamo Sokhumi ( ka, სკ სოხუმის დინამო) is a Georgian association football club from Sokhumi, Georgia, temporarily based in Tbilisi. The most successful club of Abkhazian ASSR currently competes in Regionuli Liga ...

, from 1972 to 1973, at FC Torpedo Kutaisi, from 1974 to 1976 and from 1983 to 1984, at

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the mo ...

, from 1977 to 1982 and from 1985 to 1989. He won the Soviet championship in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and Soviet Cup in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and was named Best Soviet Goalkeeper in 1979. He was known for his emotional style of play with excellent reaction. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

he won

UEFA Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

, which was the biggest achievement of his sport career.

Honours

Club

;

* Soviet Top League:

* Soviet Cup:

Individual

*Soviet Goalkeeper of the Year: 1979

International career

Gabelia played his only game for USSR on 21 November 1979 in a friendly against West Germany.

References

External links

*
Otar Gabelia • Profile on rusteam.permian.ru

Otar Gabelia • Profile on allfutbolist.ru

Otar Gabelia • Articles on sport-express.ru

Otar Gabelia • Articles on FC Dinamo Tbilisi Official website
1953 births Living people Soviet footballers Soviet Union international footballers Soviet Top League players FC Dinamo Sukhumi players FC Torpedo Kutaisi players FC Dinamo Tbilisi players Footballers from Georgia (country) Football managers from Georgia (country) FC Zugdidi managers FC Dinamo Batumi managers FC Alazani Gurjaani managers Association football goalkeepers Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) {{Georgia-footy-bio-stub