Football grinds to a halt in Georgia

All matches in the top two divisions, as well as fixtures in the Georgian Cup, have been suspended after a state of emergency was declared in the former Soviet republic.

Initial postponements
All games have been initially postponed for 15 days but the exact dates for the rearranged fixtures have yet to be announced. This weekend was set to see second-placed FC Dinamo Tbilisi take on league leaders FC Zestaponi, with the two teams five and six points clear of the chasing pack respectively after ten games.

Uhrin delight at Dinamo Tbilisi run

FC Dinamo Tbilisi, who won 12 of the first 16 post-Soviet Georgian championships, have drawn a blank in the last two seasons but at the mid-term break are on course to end that run – leading the Umaglesi Liga by two points from FC Zestaponi. Dinamo's Dušan Uhrin, who led the Czech Republic to the EURO '96™ final, was voted the Georgian media's coach of the first half of the season and spoke to uefa.com about their campaign so far.

Dušan Uhrin: First of all, I'm happy that the Georgian press hold my work and Dinamo's results in such high esteem. I really hope everything remains the same until the end of the season.

footballsport1.blogger.com: What is your opinion of how things have gone so far?

Uhrin: You have to agree that we have played good football and deserve our lead. We have dropped only three points. Apart from our loss to [FC] WIT Georgia, we have been near perfect. In key matches against [FC] Ameri Tbilisi and Zestaponi we didn't give a single chance to the opposition. I want my team to play aggressive attacking football. Right now they are doing that, and that's why we are top.

footballsport1.blogger.com: But Dinamo have not led all season ...

Uhrin: These things happen. However, we didn't lose our heads, we gathered ourselves and beat our rivals. You have to agree that even a mediocre team can have one brilliant match.

footballsport1.blogger.com: In which areas do Dinamo need strengthening?

Uhrin: Of course, we have to consolidate the squad and we'll try to do that step by step. But I should say that our team is well-balanced enough. We have shipped only four goals and have scored 35. Our goal difference is the best in the league, and goals are the main thing in football.

footballsport1.blogger.com: Will Dinamo sign anyone during the winter break?

Uhrin: I couldn't say for sure now. I know that Shota Grigalashvili and Georgi Nergadze will return to Dinamo. Both have been on loan at [FC] Borjomi and have played well this season.

footballsport1.blogger.com: Are Zestaponi Dinamo's main title rivals?

Uhrin: Not only them. WIT Georgia, Ameri, [FC] Olimpi Rustavi and Borjomi will fight as hard as they can. We will have no easy matches after the break, so there's no way we can relax now.

footballsport1.blogger.com: When will you go back into training?

Uhrin: From 28 December the players will undergo fitness tests, then on 3 January we'll reassemble at our training base. In the middle of January we'll have a training camp in Antalya, Turkey, and in early February we might go there again.

Schalke capture Georgian wunderkind

FC Schalke 04 have signed Georgian prodigy Levan Kenia from FC Lokomotiv Tbilisi, with the 17-year-old playmaker signing a contract until summer 2012.

'Great vision'
Already capped six times by Georgia having made his first appearance for the senior national team at the age of just 16, Kenia has attracted interest from a number of clubs, and Schalke general manager Andreas Müller was delighted to have lured him to Gelsenkirchen. "We are very happy that we were able to get him," he said. "He is very talented, technically perfect and has great vision." Kenia will be given time to develop and is expected to play in the Schalke youth side until the end of the season, with a view to joining countryman Levan Kobiashvili in the first team in years to come.

Porto tie
A day short of his 17th birthday at the time, Kenia was one of the stars of Georgia's 2-0 win against Scotland in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying in October along with fellow youngsters Levan Mchedlidze and Georgi Makaridze. "The three teenagers were simply stunning," said coach Klaus Toppmöller. "Kenia was one of the best on the pitch."