| Founded | 1948; 77 years ago (1948) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissolved | 2015 | ||
| Ground | Poladi Stadium Rustavi,Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 6,200 | ||
Metalurgi Rustavi was aGeorgianfootball team based inRustavi, which has twice won thenational league.
In Soviet times, the club played under the name"Metalurgi" (Rustavi), then during the independence of Georgia, the club was called"Gorda" (Rustavi) andFC Rustavi.
AfterFC Tbilisi merged with clubFC Rustavi in 2006,FC Olimpi Rustavi was established.
Football in Rustavi could be traced back toMetalurgi Rustavi in theSoviet era.
In 1990, the club became a member of the newly createdUmaglesi Liga under the nameGorda withGivi Nodia at the helm. In the first three seasons Gorda came third twice. Following Nodia's departure from the team, the management reversed its decision regarding the name. For the next six seasons Metalurgi did not achieve any significant success, although they signed several players who later joined thenational team, namelySoso Grishikashvili,Zurab Menteshashvili,Aleksandre Rekhviashvili, andLevan Kobiashvili.
The club was renamed back toGorda in 1998. Around this period the team usually stayed in the bottom half of the table. In 2002, Gorda lostplayoffs toMtskheta and suffered a first relegation toPirveli Liga. A year later, beingRustavi this time, they prevailed over the same opponents in play-offs, but due to financial difficulties failed to obtain a top-flight license.[1]
Before the 2006 season, it was announced that Rustavi would merge withUmaglesi Liga sideTbilisi and take part in the main division asOlimpi Rustavi. Starting from this year, Olimpi was regarded as one of the main title contenders.
In 2007, the team won their first Georgian Umaglesi Liga title,[2] followed by the second title three years later.[3] In the same season they recorded an unbeaten run consisting of 27 league matches.[4] With 26 goals netted in 31 matchesAnderson Aquino became their top scorer of this season. Having beatenWIT Georgia 2–0, Olimpi won theSuper Cup as well.
For the 2011–12 season the club changed its name toMetalurgi Rustavi after a thirteen-year wait. Metalurgi finished on equal points asZestaponi and was faced with a bizarre scandal involving the Football Federation. As these clubs differently inferred new league regulations determining a winner of the tournament, they both declared themselves a champion. Initially, theGFF sided with Metalurgi, although after an executive committee extraordinary meeting held the next day, it announced a final decision in favor of Zestaponi.[5]
Despite some decline, experienced by Metalurgi in following years, their players occasionally still featured in different post-season nominations. In one of such events in December 2014,Otar Kiteishvili was voted among three best young players.[6]
The 2014–15 season turned out critical.[7] Despite sitting among the top five teams before the winter break, soon the overall situation rapidly deteriorated. The club had amassed debts exceeding 8₾ million and could not afford to pay salaries to its staff and players.[8] After a fifteen-game winless run, Metalurgi ended up in the relegation zone. Following a 5–0 loss toLokomotivi in playoffs, they were relegated.[9]
Their last season was in theMeore Liga, the third division, in 2015–16, but midway through the season they withdrew from the league.[10] Subsequently, Metalurgi were declared bankrupt. Anew Rustavi club emerged representing the city inLiga 2, although they did not have any legal connections.[11]
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | P | Cup | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorda Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 1990 | Umaglesi Liga | 3 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 63 | 33 | 69 | Did not qualify | |
| 1991 | 9 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 22 | 26 | |||
| 1991–92 | 3 | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 71 | 38 | 75 | |||
| Metalurgi Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 1992–93 | Umaglesi Liga | 7 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 69 | 49 | Did not qualify | |
| 1993–94 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 1994–95 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 1995–96 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 11 | ||||||||||
| Gorda Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 1998–99 | Umaglesi Liga | 12 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1999-00 | 12 | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 2001–02 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 2002–03 | '10 | ||||||||||
| FC Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 2003–04 | Pirveli Liga | 4 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2004–05 | 11 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 43 | 37 | |||
| 2005–06 | 8 | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 50 | 37 | 49 | |||
| FC Olimpi Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Umaglesi Liga | 1 | 26 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 57 | 9 | 63 | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2007–08 | 4 | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 16 | 52 | Quarter finals | UEFA Champions League 1st qualifying round | |
| 2008–09 | 3 | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 40 | 20 | 57 | Runner-up | Did not qualify | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 36 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 69 | 26 | 79 | Round of 16 | UEFA Europa League 2nd qualifying round | |
| 2010–11 | 3 | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 52 | 31 | 66 | Quarter finals | UEFA Champions League 2nd qualifying round | |
| FC Metalurgi Rustavi | |||||||||||
| 2011–12 | Umaglesi Liga | 2 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 28 | 55 | Semi-finals | UEFA Europa League 3rd qualifying round |
| 2012–13 | 7 | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 35 | 44 | Semi-finals | UEFA Europa League 2nd qualifying round | |
| 2013–14 | 5 | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 35 | 39 | 45 | Quarter finals | Did not qualify | |
| 2014–15 | 14 | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 25 | 46 | 26 | Quarter finals | Did not qualify | |
| 2015–16 | Meore Liga | Withdrew | |||||||||
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q |  | FC Astana | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  | B36 Tórshavn | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| 2Q |  | Legia Warszawa | 0–1 | 0–3 | ||
| 2010–11 | UEFA Champions League | 2Q | | Aktobe | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| 2011–12 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  | Banants | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 2Q | | Irtysh Pavlodar | 1–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3Q |  | Stade Rennais | 2–5 | 0–2 | ||
| 2012–13 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  | Teuta | 6–1 | 3–0 |
| 2Q |  | Viktoria Plzeň | 1–3 | 0–2 |
Notable Players
Shota KhinchagashviliKakhaber TskhadadzeLevan SilagadzeVarlam KilasoniaGiorgi KilasoniaLevan KobiashviliNugzar LobzhanidzeNikoloz TogonidzeIason aladashviliGiorgi SichinavaGiorgi GakhokidzeGocha JamarauliOtar KiteishviliVako QazaishviliGiorgi Kiknadze (July 1, 2006 – Jan 1, 2007)
Anatoliy Piskovets (Sept 1, 2007 – Feb 1, 2008)Khvicha KasrashviliTeimuraz Makharadze (July 1, 2008 – Oct 4, 2010)Nestor Mumladze (Oct 10, 2010 – Nov 1, 2010)Armaz Jeladze (Nov 2010 – Aug 11)Koba Zhorzhikashvili (Aug 9, 2011 – Oct 1, 2012)Georgi Kipiani (Oct 3, 2012 – May 31, 2013)Gela Sanaia (June 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013)Varlam Kilasonia (Jan 1, 2014–)
