Shelia, Murtazi Georgievich

Murtazi (Murtaz) Shelia, a native of the Abkhaz village of Kochar , began his football career in Ochamchira “ Amirani ”, but a year later he was invited to Dinamo Tbilisi. As part of this team, Shelia became the champion of Georgia in 1991 and 1992, after the second title having spent about the season in the German Saarbrucken ^[2] .

Returning to Georgia in the 1995 season, Shelia managed to win back ten matches for Tbilisi, including against the Austrian Tyrol club in the UEFA Cup . This game, in which Dynamo won on the home field, was attended by the coach of Spartak-Alania from Vladikavkaz, Valery Gazzayev , who suggested Shelia to go to this club ^[2] .

Together with Shelia in “Spartak-Alania” there were two more Georgian legionnaires - scorer Mikhail Kavelashvili and goalkeeper Iosif Grishikashvili ^[3] . At the end of the 1995 season, Gazzayev’s team became the champion of Russia, for the first time in the history of this tournament, ahead of Spartak Moscow ^[4] . The following year, both Spartak came to the finish line with the same number of points, and the fate of the championship title was determined in an additional match on a neutral field in St. Petersburg, which brought victory to Muscovites. Silver medals in Vladikavkaz were regarded as a step backwards ^[5] .

For two years in the Russian championship, Shelia spent nine goals for Spartak-Alania as part of the Russian championship, twice entering the list of 33 best players of the tournament , and also scored a goal in the club's first winning match in the UEFA Cup (against Anderlecht ). At the same time, he played for the Georgian national team , and during the qualifying match for the World Championship in England, agents of the English club Manchester City drew attention to him, soon offering to sign a contract for 4.5 years. Shelia himself later recalled that he was not particularly interested in moving to the club of the First Division (only the second most significant league in England), but regarded it as an opportunity to establish himself on the European arena with the subsequent transition to a stronger team ^[2] .

As in “Alania”, Shelia turned out to be one of several Georgian players at once in Manchester City — George Kinkladze was already playing there by the time he arrived , and after six weeks Khaber Tskhadadze joined the defense in Murtaza. In his opening match for the "City" Shelia was marked by a goal against " Birmingham City ", but his club lost with the score 2: 1. Toward the end of the season, Selia began to pursue injuries (the heaviest of which he received in the match with Oxford ^[4] ), and he gradually gave way to Andy Morrison in the starting lineup ^[6] .

In 2000, Manchester City released Shelia from the continuation of the contract, and the 30-year-old defender returned to Tbilisi, where he played several games for Dynamo, successfully performing on the second floor. At the end of the year, the possibility of continuing the speeches of Shelia for Alania was also discussed ^[4] . However, the former level of the game could not be returned, and soon Shelia completed his playing career. For some time he served as a vice-resident of Dynamo (Tbilisi), and then went into private business, having opened the Monopol restaurant, which is popular in Tbilisi. Shelia and his wife Lika have three children, the daughters Anna and Helena and the son David ^[2] .

Team

• Champion of Russia : 1995
• Silver medalist of the Russian Football Championship: 1996

Personal

• In the lists of 33 best football players of the championship of Russia 2 times: 1995, 1996

• (English)