Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava (born 5 January 1943 in village Bandza, Martvili

Martvili

Martvili is a small town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province of Western Georgia. Its monastery was Samegrelo's clerical centre in the Middle Ages...

 District, Georgian SSR) is a former Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 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. http://kontrataka.net/?p=25

He was part of the USSR

USSR national football team

The Soviet Union National Football Team was the national football team of the Soviet Union. It ceased to exist after the break up of the Union...

 side that finished second in the 1972 UEFA European Championship, third at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 and fourth at the 1966 FIFA World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

. 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

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

, where he now resides with his family. http://kontrataka.net/?p=25

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player

UEFA Jubilee Awards

To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...

 of Georgia by the Georgian Football Federation

Georgian Football Federation

The Georgian Football Federation was founded in 1936. It was part of the Football Federation of Soviet Union from 1936 to 1989. The Independent Georgian Football Federation was established on 15 February 1990. It is the governing body of football in Georgia. It organizes the football league, the...

 as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=256/newsId=130150.html

Playing Style

Famed for his man-to-man marking skills and no-nonsense approach to defending, Khurtsilava was a feared yet fearless defender.

External links

• UEFA.com - Georgia's Golden Player RussiaTeam biography