Shota Arveladze joked once – it is time to buy a house in Tirana.

-         Wow, do we play against Albania again?

-         Yes, but away.

-         What is the difference, it is a home field.

-         Why?

-         We know that stadium of Tirana so well.

I heard this conversation of one of the football players of the national team. The Georgian national team has held 12 matches against Albania and 6 were away. All six matches were held on “Qemal Stafa” and on February 6 a friendly match will be held on that stadium.

Georgia-Albania is often in the ballot together and we hold friendlies almost every year.

“Crusaders” have advantage: 7 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Goals are: 19:10.

Last year on February 29 we played against Albania in Tbilisi. We lost the first half but then Sandro Kobakhidze equalized and Aleko Amisulashvili scored goal at the last minutes. Amisulashvili scored when goalkeeper parried penalty of Davit Targamadze. The Albanian goalkeeper parried the penalty in the first half – Lado Dvalishvili took it.

I will write about one match.

…that match was not the best in the history of the Georgian national team but it was historical. After gaining independence, our team won the first official match on opponent’s field. It happened on December 14, 1994. 18 years passed and the Georgians won away matches. But the first one is special…

The first qualifying round: losing home match to Moldova (0:1), losing away match to Bulgaria (0:2) and beating Wales 5:0…

Here was one important factor: in 1995 we had to hold the first game against Germany. In short, on December 14 everybody expected the match against Albania.

I remember it was freezing in Tbilisi. There was no electricity. In the afternoon boys gathered and we tried to hear report on the radio.

Time of the match came. We were standing in the street. The wind was blowing and it was dark. The first half was over. Suddenly we heard voice similar to legendary Kote Makharadze and ran toward the block of flats.

There was a car with three men in it. One was trying to correct antenna. The voice was lost. 15 minutes were left and we did not know result.

“Akaki Devadze is brilliant”, “Georgians parried the ball from the penalty area”, “Albania started another offence”, “Goalpost again. The Georgian team is saved” – the words of Kote Makharadze made us even more nervous. We asked each other what the score was.

If the Albanians are attacking, we are winning and playing in defense. Of course, Kote Makharadze said the score but it was hard to hear it.

And suddenly we were happy. 5 minutes were left till the end of the match and we heard the words: “The Georgians are winning 1:0”.

The last minutes were century… Devadze parried another goal and in the end, the words of Kote Makharadze: “Congratulations. The Georgian team defeated Albania with the goal of Shota Arveladze. The match against Germany is ahead!”

That night we talked about the match against Germany. Three months were ahead.

We discuss the schedule. “If Bulgaria loses both matches to Germany”, “Wales will cause trouble to Bulgaria”, “We have a chance to take the second place”…

We watched the moments of the match on the second or third day. We scored goal at the beginning: Kakha Gogichaishvili assisted Shota in the penalty area – 1:0. We had moments but the Albanians had more.

We did not have Kakha Tskhadadze and Giorgi Nemsadze. But we had a great choice in offence. Gocha Jamarauli started playing at the end of the match.

After that we beat the Albanians six times but that happiness was different – in frost, in the wind… it was our last victory on “Qemal Stafa”. I hope, no the last one.

 

Ilia Nanobashvili