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Sixteen-year-old Ejibia’s adventure of meeting Tottenham Hotspur football players on mountain Mtatsminda in 1973
Football players of Tottenham Hotspur in Tbilisi, 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia)
TBILISI, October 23, 2024 - In the modern era, it is not surprising that young fans from different countries have the opportunity to meet the stars of European and world football. But in the 20th century it was a fantasy. Today I want to tell you about a 67-year-old resident of Georgian Black Seaside town, Poti. His name is Gia Ejibia. Since 1994 he has been the media officer of the football club "Kolkheti 1913" Poti (one of the oldest football clubs in Georgia). He has also been a TV journalist since 1995.
Before his modern life there were many adventures in his life, one of them is associated with 1973: when the then 16-year-old Gia Ejibia, a tenth-grader from Poti, arrived in Tbilisi with his classmate (350km distance between Poti and Tbilisi), for the UEFA Cup match between the local Dinamo and the famous English club Tottenham Hotspur. After the game he managed to get into one of the elite restaurants on the mountain Mtatsminda (Tbilisi), where Dinamo players and their English guests were.
G.Ejibia, 2015
- Gia, how did you find yourself at the Tottenham Hotspur match in Tbilisi.
- It was on November 28, 1973, I was a tenth-grade schoolboy in Poti. When I learned about the upcoming arrival of the titled English team in Tbilisi, I decided to go to the game with my classmate Merab Kokaia (died in 2002). My father did not object, relatives in Tbilisi promised me tickets for the game, which took place at the “Lokomotiv” Stadium (now the Mikhail Meskhi Stadium) in the presence of more than 40 thousand spectators. We enjoyed watching the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw. (It should be established that since February 1921 Georgia was occupied by Bolshevik Russia and was part of the Soviet Union between 1922-1990 - author). Before or after the game at the stadium, it was beyond belief to cross paths with the players of the visiting team. After the match, a friend and I immediately walked to the “Iveria” Hotel, where the English team lived. The calculation was that in the foyer or at the entrance you could see one of the players and get an autograph from them. But when we approached the hotel, tears welled up in me - I saw the “Ikarus” bus taking the English team away. Seeing the veteran of the team Allan Gilzen in the bus, I showed him that I wanted an autograph, but he apologized with gestures and the bus drove away.
- But how did you get to the banquet of the Dynamo and the British players?
- As soon as the bus took the “Tottenham Hotspur” players away, I asked the drivers standing there where they had gone. They replied - to a restaurant on mountain Mtatsminda, one of the attractive places of Tbilisi. Near "Iveria”, across the road, there was a funicular and I went up to Mtatsminda alone, as my friend referred to fatigue and went to the railway station to return to Poti by train. When I got to Mtatsminda, I saw when “Dinamo” Tbilisi players Piruz Kanteladze and Beso Mchedlishvili entered the restaurant and I followed them. Entering the restaurant, I saw almost the entire squad of "Dinamo" and "Tottenham Hotspur" in the hall. I was happy, but was not allowed access - a respectable man came up to me and asked "Son, where are you going in a hurry?" I explained to him. He replied: "No, you need permission for such a meeting." I answered him: "Sir, I have a train back soon, please let me pass - I will take autographs and leave immediately." He looked at me and said, "Okay, just quick." I approached the feast, watched and admired - at the table were Martin Peters (1966 world champion as part of the England national team), John Pratts, Martins Chivers, Ralph Coates (who scored the goal against "Dinamo"), Ray Evans. I took autographs from six players and including the veteran of the team Alan Gilzean.
Some of the autographs of Tottenham Hotspur football players collected by Gia Ejibia in 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia).
- Did you manage to meet the players of the teams “Liverpool” and “Hamburg” when those teams came to Tbilisi in 1979?
- On October 3, 1979, “Dinamo Tbilisi” won the second leg of the 1/16 European Champions Cup at home against “Liverpool” with a score of 3-0. “Liverpool” won the first game in England 2-1. Following the results of the two games, “Dinamo” advanced to the next round, creating a sensation. Of the “Liverpool” players, I managed to get an autograph from only Jimmy Case. Then “Dynamo” played against “Hamburg”. The day before the return match of the quarter-final in Tbilisi, I managed to get to the training of “Hamburg” at the “Dinamo” stadium, to get autographs from Manfred Kaltz, Hrubesch, Hartwig, but I did not manage to get close to Kevin Keegan (the best player in Europe in 1978 and 1979).
Photo 1- Football players of "TH" in Tbilisi, 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia).
Photo 2- G.Ejibia, 2015
Photo 3-4 An autographes of football players “TH” 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia).
Before his modern life there were many adventures in his life, one of them is associated with 1973: when the then 16-year-old Gia Ejibia, a tenth-grader from Poti, arrived in Tbilisi with his classmate (350km distance between Poti and Tbilisi), for the UEFA Cup match between the local Dinamo and the famous English club Tottenham Hotspur. After the game he managed to get into one of the elite restaurants on the mountain Mtatsminda (Tbilisi), where Dinamo players and their English guests were.
- Gia, how did you find yourself at the Tottenham Hotspur match in Tbilisi.
- It was on November 28, 1973, I was a tenth-grade schoolboy in Poti. When I learned about the upcoming arrival of the titled English team in Tbilisi, I decided to go to the game with my classmate Merab Kokaia (died in 2002). My father did not object, relatives in Tbilisi promised me tickets for the game, which took place at the “Lokomotiv” Stadium (now the Mikhail Meskhi Stadium) in the presence of more than 40 thousand spectators. We enjoyed watching the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw. (It should be established that since February 1921 Georgia was occupied by Bolshevik Russia and was part of the Soviet Union between 1922-1990 - author). Before or after the game at the stadium, it was beyond belief to cross paths with the players of the visiting team. After the match, a friend and I immediately walked to the “Iveria” Hotel, where the English team lived. The calculation was that in the foyer or at the entrance you could see one of the players and get an autograph from them. But when we approached the hotel, tears welled up in me - I saw the “Ikarus” bus taking the English team away. Seeing the veteran of the team Allan Gilzen in the bus, I showed him that I wanted an autograph, but he apologized with gestures and the bus drove away.
- But how did you get to the banquet of the Dynamo and the British players?
- As soon as the bus took the “Tottenham Hotspur” players away, I asked the drivers standing there where they had gone. They replied - to a restaurant on mountain Mtatsminda, one of the attractive places of Tbilisi. Near "Iveria”, across the road, there was a funicular and I went up to Mtatsminda alone, as my friend referred to fatigue and went to the railway station to return to Poti by train. When I got to Mtatsminda, I saw when “Dinamo” Tbilisi players Piruz Kanteladze and Beso Mchedlishvili entered the restaurant and I followed them. Entering the restaurant, I saw almost the entire squad of "Dinamo" and "Tottenham Hotspur" in the hall. I was happy, but was not allowed access - a respectable man came up to me and asked "Son, where are you going in a hurry?" I explained to him. He replied: "No, you need permission for such a meeting." I answered him: "Sir, I have a train back soon, please let me pass - I will take autographs and leave immediately." He looked at me and said, "Okay, just quick." I approached the feast, watched and admired - at the table were Martin Peters (1966 world champion as part of the England national team), John Pratts, Martins Chivers, Ralph Coates (who scored the goal against "Dinamo"), Ray Evans. I took autographs from six players and including the veteran of the team Alan Gilzean.
- Did you manage to meet the players of the teams “Liverpool” and “Hamburg” when those teams came to Tbilisi in 1979?
- On October 3, 1979, “Dinamo Tbilisi” won the second leg of the 1/16 European Champions Cup at home against “Liverpool” with a score of 3-0. “Liverpool” won the first game in England 2-1. Following the results of the two games, “Dinamo” advanced to the next round, creating a sensation. Of the “Liverpool” players, I managed to get an autograph from only Jimmy Case. Then “Dynamo” played against “Hamburg”. The day before the return match of the quarter-final in Tbilisi, I managed to get to the training of “Hamburg” at the “Dinamo” stadium, to get autographs from Manfred Kaltz, Hrubesch, Hartwig, but I did not manage to get close to Kevin Keegan (the best player in Europe in 1978 and 1979).
Photo 1- Football players of "TH" in Tbilisi, 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia).
Photo 2- G.Ejibia, 2015
Photo 3-4 An autographes of football players “TH” 1973 (archive of G. Ejibia).
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