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Temur Ketsbaia
Temur Ketsbaia (Georgian: თემურ ქეცბაია; born 18 March 1968) is a Georgian professional football manager of Anorthosis Famagusta and former player.
Ketsbaia began his professional career in 1986 with Georgian clubs Dinamo Sokhumi and Dinamo Tbilisi. In 1992 he moved to Cyprus to play for Anorthosis and in the summer of 1994, he signed for the then Greek champions, AEK Athens.
In his first official AEK match against Rangers, for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, he seriously injured his hand. He returned after a few months, but his performance in his first season was not as expected, affected by both the injury and his adaptation to a more demanding league. He was the only scorer in the league derby against Olympiacos in AEK's away victory on 19 November 1994.
The following season, Ketsbaia won the cup with AEK and was named by his colleagues in the league as the best foreign footballer of the season. On 28 September 1995, he scored against Sion for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the semi-finals, he scored in both legs against Panathinaikos. His next season, he helped AEK win the Greek Super Cup. On 17 October 1996, he opened the score in AEK's 2–0 win against Olimpija Ljubljana for round 16 of the UEFA Winners' Cup.
In the summer of 1997 Ketsbaia moved to England to play for Newcastle United on a free transfer. Early in his Newcastle career, he scored a goal in extra time against Dinamo Zagreb, ensuring a place for Newcastle in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. However, his time in England is mostly remembered for his celebration after scoring a last-minute winner against Bolton Wanderers in 1998, in which he took off his shirt and kicked the advertising hoardings; he stated that this was to relieve his frustration at being kept out of Newcastle's starting line-up. Although he was considered something of a cult hero by Newcastle fans, he was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2000. He played for Dundee from 2001 to 2002, then returned to Anorthosis until announcing his retirement on 30 June 2007. He played his final match on 14 July.
In May 2015, Ketsbaia played for Dundee once more against Crystal Palace as part of Julián Speroni's testimonial match, joining former Dundee players Georgi Nemsadze, Juan Sara, Fabián Caballero, and Luis Alberto Carranza.
He won the Malta International Football Tournament whilst on international duty with Georgia in 1998, the only International honour in his career.
In January 2004, while still a player for Anorthosis, Ketsbaia took his first managerial position there. He won two championships as Anorthosis manager, in 2004–05 and in 2007–08, and one cup in 2006–07. In 2005 Anorthosis reached in the third-round of the Champions League, over running Trabzonspor in the second round, and in 2008–09 reached in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, the first Cypriot team to do so.
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Temur Ketsbaia
Temur Ketsbaia (Georgian: თემურ ქეცბაია; born 18 March 1968) is a Georgian professional football manager of Anorthosis Famagusta and former player.
Ketsbaia began his professional career in 1986 with Georgian clubs Dinamo Sokhumi and Dinamo Tbilisi. In 1992 he moved to Cyprus to play for Anorthosis and in the summer of 1994, he signed for the then Greek champions, AEK Athens.
In his first official AEK match against Rangers, for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, he seriously injured his hand. He returned after a few months, but his performance in his first season was not as expected, affected by both the injury and his adaptation to a more demanding league. He was the only scorer in the league derby against Olympiacos in AEK's away victory on 19 November 1994.
The following season, Ketsbaia won the cup with AEK and was named by his colleagues in the league as the best foreign footballer of the season. On 28 September 1995, he scored against Sion for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the semi-finals, he scored in both legs against Panathinaikos. His next season, he helped AEK win the Greek Super Cup. On 17 October 1996, he opened the score in AEK's 2–0 win against Olimpija Ljubljana for round 16 of the UEFA Winners' Cup.
In the summer of 1997 Ketsbaia moved to England to play for Newcastle United on a free transfer. Early in his Newcastle career, he scored a goal in extra time against Dinamo Zagreb, ensuring a place for Newcastle in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. However, his time in England is mostly remembered for his celebration after scoring a last-minute winner against Bolton Wanderers in 1998, in which he took off his shirt and kicked the advertising hoardings; he stated that this was to relieve his frustration at being kept out of Newcastle's starting line-up. Although he was considered something of a cult hero by Newcastle fans, he was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2000. He played for Dundee from 2001 to 2002, then returned to Anorthosis until announcing his retirement on 30 June 2007. He played his final match on 14 July.
In May 2015, Ketsbaia played for Dundee once more against Crystal Palace as part of Julián Speroni's testimonial match, joining former Dundee players Georgi Nemsadze, Juan Sara, Fabián Caballero, and Luis Alberto Carranza.
He won the Malta International Football Tournament whilst on international duty with Georgia in 1998, the only International honour in his career.
In January 2004, while still a player for Anorthosis, Ketsbaia took his first managerial position there. He won two championships as Anorthosis manager, in 2004–05 and in 2007–08, and one cup in 2006–07. In 2005 Anorthosis reached in the third-round of the Champions League, over running Trabzonspor in the second round, and in 2008–09 reached in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, the first Cypriot team to do so.