defender Alexander Chivadze He was one of two Georgian football players who proudly wore the captain’s armband in the USSR national team (the first – Murtaz Hurtsilava). But in his club career, he was devoted to only one team – Dinamo Tbilisi, where he managed to achieve great success.
In 1980, Chivadze became the captain of the team, and the following year Tbilisi Dynamo performed a miracle by winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. In the final, Soviet football players defeated Karl Zeiss of the GDR (2: 1) and entered the history of Soviet football as the second team from the USSR to win the European Cup (the first was Dynamo Kiev in 1975).
On the way to the final, Dinamo Tbilisi lost at Wembley to FA Cup champions West Ham, who beat Arsenal (1:0) in the final. However, with the head coach’s team Nodara Ahalkatsi The British could not cope. After the first half in London’s Upton Park, Dinamo were leading 2-0 and Chivadze led the game. Alexander picked up the ball in the middle of the court, sped up, and then slammed into the West Ham goalkeeper from outside the penalty area. Phil Parks there was just no luck!
“As far as I can remember, I was called a ‘professor of football’ for the first time in London in March 1981, after Dinamo Tbilisi’s victory over West Ham United (4:1). Then I was somewhat offended by this – after all, I became a professor without defending my thesis (laughs), but now it’s nice and I think when I will become an academic … “ Chivadze recalled in an interview with journalist Tengiz Pachkoria.
The match in London ended with the defeat of West Ham (4: 1) – the striker doubled the score Vladimir Gutsaevand after the break he marked himself with a double Ramadan Sengelya. Already in the second leg in Tbilisi, Dynamo lost to the British with a minimum score of 0:1, but this did not prevent them from reaching the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup and subsequently winning the tournament.
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