Murtaz Khurtsilava

Murtaz Khurtsilava

Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava (Russian: Муртаз Калистратович Хурцилава, Georgian: მურთაზ ხურცილავა) (born 5 January 1943 in village Bandza, Martvili District, Georgian SSR) is a former Georgian footballer. He was a famed defender.

Khurtsilava was discovered while playing football in the school garden in Gegechkori, a small town in Caucasus -now known as Martvili- where he learnt to play football with a ball made of hay and rags.

He was part of the USSR side that finished second in the 1972 UEFA European Championship, third at the 1972 Summer Olympics and fourth at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He was also one of only two Georgians, alongside Alexandre Chivadze, to have captained the Soviet team. At the club level he played for FC Dynamo Tbilisi.

After retiring in 1977, Khurtsilava set up his own business in Tbilisi, where he now resides with his family.

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Georgia by the Georgian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.