Temur Ketsbaia

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Temuri Ketsbaia
Temur Ketsbaia (cropped).jpg
Ketsbaia as manager of Anorthosis in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-03-18) 18 March 1968 (age 48)
Place of birth Gali, Georgia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 12 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
AEK Athens (manager)
Youth career
1986 Dinamo Sukhumi
1987 Dinamo Tbilisi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1992 Dinamo Tbilisi 104 (23)
1992–1994 Anorthosis 76 (36)
1994–1997 AEK Athens 84 (24)
1997–2000 Newcastle United 78 (8)
2000–2001 Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 (3)
2001–2002 Dundee 22 (6)
2002–2006 Anorthosis 100 (39)
Total 488 (139)
National team
1990–2003 Georgia 52 (17)
Teams managed
2004–2009 Anorthosis
2009 Olympiacos
2009–2014 Georgia
2015–2016 APOEL
2016– AEK Athens

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Temuri "Temur" Ketsbaia (Georgian: თემურ ქეცბაია; born 18 March 1968) is a Georgian retired footballer and a current manager of Greek club AEK Athens.

As a player he represented the Georgian national team and played for Dinamo Tbilisi, Anorthosis, AEK Athens, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Dundee.

Club career[edit]

After beginning his professional career in 1987 in his native Georgia with Dinamo Tbilisi, Ketsbaia then played for Cypriot side Anorthosis, and Greek giants AEK Athens. He ran down his contract in the Greek capital and arrived at St James' Park and Newcastle United on a free transfer in 1997. Early in his career with The Magpies, Ketsbaia scored a goal in extra time against Croatia Zagreb, ensuring a place for Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.[1]

In England, he is remembered for his celebration after scoring a last-minute winner against Bolton Wanderers in 1998, in which he took off his jersey and kicked the advertising hoardings. He stated that this was to relieve his frustration at being kept out of the Newcastle starting line-up.[2]

Although he was considered something of a 'cult hero' by Newcastle fans, he was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2000, and also played for Dundee, among others.

On 30 June 2007, Ketsbaia announced his retirement from professional football. His last match before retiring was held on 14 July.[3]

In May 2015, Ketsbaia played for Dundee versus Crystal Palace as part of Julián Speroni's testimonial match, along with former Dundee players Georgi Nemsadze, Juan Sara, Fabián Caballero and Luis Alberto Carranza.[4]

Managerial career[edit]

On 28 September 2008, he stated his interest for the vacant Newcastle manager position. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, he said: "I had a great opportunity to play at Newcastle as a player, so why not as a manager?" [5]

In the week before the match club directors had gone to the police complaining of financial irregularities being carried out by the club President who was forced to resign, despite support from Ketsbaia and club supporters.[6]

In April 2009, Ketsbaia stood down as coach of Anorthosis.[7] On 25 May 2009 the chairman of Olympiacos announced that Ketsbaia had been appointed the club's manager on a three-year deal, replacing Ernesto Valverde;[8] however, on 15 September 2009, Ketsbaia and Olympiacos parted company following early criticism from the club's supporters, despite Olympiakos not conceding a goal during his tenure.[9]

In November 2009 he was announced as manager of the Georgian national side, which he represented 49 times as a player. He claimed that while he could not promise a major tournament in the near future, the team would fight to reach one.[10]

In January 2015, Ketsbaia once again declared his interest in taking over the vacant manager job at Newcastle United, after Alan Pardew moved on to Crystal Palace, however, John Carver was appointed in a temporary position instead.[11]

On 28 August 2015, Ketsbaia agreed terms with reigning Cypriot champions APOEL, signing a two-year contract with the club and replacing Domingos Paciência who was fired earlier at the same day.[12] On 21 April 2016, one day after APOEL's elimination in the Cypriot Cup semi-finals by Apollon Limassol, Ketsbaia's contract with APOEL was terminated,[13] although at that moment the team were four points clear at the top of the league with only four matches remaining.

Career statistics[edit]

International goals[edit]

Georgia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ketsbaia goal.[14]
International goals by date, venue, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 July 1991 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău, Moldova 2  Moldova 1–0 4–2 Friendly
2 10 February 1994 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 5  Malta 1–0 1–0 1994 Rothmans International Tournament
3 16 November 1994 Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia 7  Wales 1–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
4 3–0
5 26 April 1995 9  Albania 2–0 2–0
6 6 September 1995 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany 11  Germany 1–0 1–4
7 27 March 1996 Tsirion Athletic Centre, Limassol, Cyprus 13  Cyprus 1–0 2–0 Friendly
8 24 September 1997 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău, Moldova 24  Moldova 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 11 October 1997 Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia 25  Poland 3–0 3–0
10 8 February 1998 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 27  Albania 1–0 3–0 1998 Rothmans International Tournament
11 5 June 1999 Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia 36  Greece 1–0 1–2 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
12 2 February 2000 Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus 37  Slovakia 1–0 2–0 2008 Cyprus Four Nations Football Tournament
13 4 February 2000 38  Romania 1–0 1–1
14 7 October 2000 Steponas Darius ir Stasys Girėnas Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania 43  Lithuania 1–0 4–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 2–0
16 24 April 2001 Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia 47  Israel 1–0 3–2 Friendly
17 2–1

Managerial statistics[edit]

As of 2 October 2016
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
P W D L GF GA GD Win %
Anorthosis July 2004 13 April 2009 143 83 34 26 241 127 +114 58.04 [15][16][17][18]
Olympiacos 25 May 2009 15 September 2009 6 5 1 0 9 0 +9 83.33 [19]
Georgia 6 November 2009 14 November 2014 40 13 9 18 32 43 −11 32.50 [20]
APOEL 30 August 2015 21 April 2016 43 27 7 9 93 40 +53 62.79 [21]
AEK Athens 6 June 2016 Present 6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 33.33 [20]
Total 238 130 53 55 381 215 +166 54.62

Honours[edit]

As a player[edit]

Dinamo Tbilisi
AEK Athens
Anorthosis

As a manager[edit]

Anorthosis

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ketsbaia secures prize at the last". The Independent. 28 August 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  2. ^ Spellman, Damian (1 June 2013). "Ketsbaia determined to be remembered for something other than his crazy celebration". Daily Mail. Press Association. Retrieved 6 January 2015. 
  3. ^ Ketsbaia announces retirement, Abkhazia Institute for Social and Economic Research. 30 June 2007.
  4. ^ [1], thecourier.co.uk. 26 May 2015.
  5. ^ Ketsbaia wants Newcastle job, Sunday Mirror 28 September 2008.
  6. ^ Embattled Anorthosis boss stands down, Cyprus Mail, 2 December 2008
  7. ^ "Ketsbaia calls it quits at Anorthosis". UEFA.com. 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 
  8. ^ Griechenland: Valverde musste trotz des Doubles gehen: Ketsbaia übernimmt Olympiakos
  9. ^ "Ketsbaia leaves Olympiakos". skysports.com. 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2009-09-15. 
  10. ^ "Temuri Ketsbaia appointed as new Georgia coach". goal.com. 2009-11-06. 
  11. ^ "Temuri Ketsbaia wants the Newcastle United job". chroniclelive.co.uk. 2012-01-03. 
  12. ^ Σύναψη συμφωνίας με Temur Ketsbaia. APOEL FC. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015. 
  13. ^ Κοινή συναινέσει λύση συνεργασίας με Temur Ketsbaia (in Greek). APOEL FC. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016. 
  14. ^ "Temur Ketsbaia". European Football. Retrieved 27 September 2016. 
  15. ^ "Anorthosis 2005–06 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  16. ^ "Anorthosis 2006–07 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  17. ^ "Anorthosis 2007–08 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  18. ^ "Anorthosis 2008–09 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  19. ^ "Olympiacos 2009–10 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  20. ^ a b "Temuri Ketsbaia managerial statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 
  21. ^ "APOEL 2015–16 season statistics". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 26 September 2016. 

External links[edit]