Murtaz Shelia

Murtaz Shelia

Personal information
Full name	Murtaz Shelia
Date of birth	25 March 1969 (1969-03-25) (age 42)
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, then Soviet Union
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988–1990	Amirani Ochamchire	28	(3)
1991–1994	Dinamo Tbilisi	74	(2)
1994	1. FC Saarbrücken	18	(1)
1995	Dinamo Tbilisi	15	(3)
1995–1997	Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz	62	(9)
1997–2000	Manchester City	15	(2)
2000	Dinamo Tbilisi	3	(1)
2000–2001	Lokomotivi Tbilisi	7	(2)
National team
1994–1998	Georgia	29	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Murtaz Shelia (born 25 March 1969) is a former football defender who was capped 29 times for Georgia between 1994 and 1998.

His clubs included Dinamo Tbilisi, 1. FC Saarbrücken, Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz, Manchester City and Lokomotivi Tbilisi. With Dinamo Tbilisi, Shelia formed part of a Georgian league championship winning team for five years in a row, from 1991 to 1995.^[1] In 1995 he joined Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz of the Russian league, where, as one of five Georgians on the books of the North Ossetians, he helped the club win the Russian league title in his first season.^[2]

Two years later Shelia joined English club Manchester City, where his former Dinamo Tbilisi team-mate Georgi Kinkladze was the star player.^[3] He marked his debut with a goal at Birmingham City, though Manchester City lost the match 2–1.^[4] Six weeks later he was joined in defence by another Georgian, Kakhaber Tskhadadze, but as the season reached its conclusion injuries restricted Shelia's appearances. At the end of the season Manchester City were relegated, entering the third tier for the first time in their history. The following season Shelia made just three appearances before sustaining a career-threatening injury against Reading in October 1998, his final appearance for the club. In 2000 he was released from his contract. After attempting a brief comeback with Lokomotivi Tbilisi, he retired in 2001.

References

1. ^ "Georgia - Championship Winning Teams". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/players/georchampions.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
2. ^ "Georgia's football frailties". When Saturday Comes. http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/1001/38/. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
3. ^ Buckley, Andy; Burgess, Richard (2000). Blue Moon Rising: The Fall and Rise of Manchester City. Bury: Milo. ISBN 0-9530847-4-4.  p101, 149
4. ^ James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.  pp462–3

Persondata
Name	Shelia, Murtaz
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	25 March 1969
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, then Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death