FC Sioni Bolnisi
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| Full name | Football Club Sioni Bolnisi | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1936 | ||
| Ground | Tamaz Stepania Stadium, Bolnisi | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | Zviad Kirkitadze | ||
| Manager | Giorgi Daraselia | ||
| League | Erovnuli Liga | ||
| 2021 | 1st, Liga 2 | ||
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FC Sioni is a Georgian football club based in Bolnisi. Following the 2021 season they won Liga 2 and gained promotion to the first tier of Georgian league system.
The team has once claimed the national league champion's title.
Sioni plays their home games at the local stadium named after Tamaz Stepania.
Honours
- Winners (1): 2005–06
History
The football club in Bolnisi was founded in 1936. For years they took part in Georgian domestic competitions under the name Madneuli. While being in the second division in early 1990s, the team emerged among the candidates challenging for the top league.
For the first time Sioni participated in Umaglesi Liga in the 1995/96 season and after the initial several years made a significant progress towards joining ambitious clubs vying for titles.
In 2002 they reached the Cup final, although failed to prevail over Dinamo Tbilisi.[1]
In the 2003/04 season, Sioni and FC WIT Georgia shared the first position in the league, and the title was decided in a championship play-off. WIT won the game 2–0, but the crowd violence during the match led UEFA to ban Sioni from the UEFA Cup participation.[2]
The third attempt two years later turned out successful. The club set a remarkable unbeaten home record by winning 14 games out of 15 and ended the season five points clear of a main rival.[3] Kakha Tskhadadze became Manager of the Year, while striker Koka Mikuchadze, who scored 19 goals, was named in the symbolic team of the season. Sioni represented Georgia in the UEFA Champions League 2006-07, where they defeated FK Baku from Azerbaijan in the first qualifying round,[4] but were eliminated by Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia in the second stage, losing 2–0 both home and away.[5]
As champions, in January 2007 Sioni participated in CIS Cup in Moscow where they defeated two opponents out of three, although failed to qualify for play-offs due to disadvantage in goal difference.[6]
Sioni achieved another league success in 2013/14. Under Vladimir Burduli the club, strengthened by some experienced players, including former national team members Valeri Abramidze and Revaz Kemoklidze, won the bronze medals. However, Sioni's subsequent performance was poor, which saw the team in 2016 relegated to Liga 2 for the first time in the last two decades.
As of 2020, in all-time table based on performance in Erovnuli Liga Sioni are on the 7th place.[7]
| M | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 746 | 263 | 159 | 324 | 853-1041 | 948 |
Following a two-year tenure in the second division Sioni gained another promotion in 2021. The team topped the league from the very beginning and, although slipped up in midseason which resulted in the sacking of the manager, eventually they defeated Gagra in the championship contest.[8]
Seasons
| Season | Div. | Position | Notes | Top scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995/96 | 1st | 9th of 16 | ||
| 1996/97 | 1st | 9th of 16 | ||
| 1997/98 | 1st | 13th of 16 | ||
| 1998/99 | 1st | 13th of 16 | ||
| 1999/2000 | 1st | 6th of 16 | Championship Group | |
| 2000/01 | 1st | 8th of 12 | Relegation Group | |
| 2001/02 | 1st | 8th of 12 | Relegation Group | |
| 2002/03 | 1st | 5th of 12 | Championship Group | |
| 2003/04 | 1st | 2nd of 12 | Championship Group | |
| 2004/05 | 1st | 7th of 10 | ||
| 2005/06 | 1st | 1st of 16 | ||
| 2006/07 | 1st | 6th of 14 | ||
| 2007/08 | 1st | 8th of 14 | ||
| 2008/09 | 1st | 5th of 11 | ||
| 2009/10 | 1st | 6th of 10 | Aleksandre Gogoberishvili - 6 | |
| 2010/11 | 1st | 8th of 10 | Revaz Gotsiridze - 7 | |
| 2011/12 | 1st | 12th of 12 | Relegation round | Giorgi Kutsurua - 4 |
| 2012/13 | 1st | 10th of 12 | Relegation round | Giorgi Kakhelishvili, Valeri
Abramidze, Lado Akhalaia - 4 |
| 2013/14 | 1st | 3rd of 12 | Championship Group | Rezo Jikia - 6 |
| 2014/15 | 1st | 13th of 16 | Data Sitchinava - 11 | |
| 2015/16 | 1st | 5th of 16 | Dimitri Tatanashvili - 11 | |
| 2016 | 1st | 6th of 14 | Red Group; Relegation play-off, lost | Davit Volkovi - 6 |
| 2017 | 2nd | 3rd of 10 | Promotion play-off, won | Jaba Dvali - 21 |
| 2018 | 1st | 8th of 10 | Relegation play-off, won | Davit Kirkitadze - 6 |
| 2019 | 1st | 9th of 10 | Relegation play-off, lost | Jaba Ugulava - 9 |
| 2020 | 2nd | 7th of 10 | Zviad Sikharulia - 4 | |
| 2021 | 2nd | 1st of 10 | Winner, promoted | Data Sitchinava - 20 |
European cup
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | UEFA Cup | QR |  FK Púchov
|
0–3 | 0–3 |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q |  Baku FC
|
2–0 | 0–1 |
| 2Q |  PFC Levski Sofia
|
0–2 | 0–2 | ||
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Flamurtari
|
2–3 | 2–1 |
Managers
Kakha Tskhadadze (Dec 31, 2005 – Aug 31, 2006)- Giorgi Kipshidze (Jul 1, 2007 – Jun 30, 2008)
- Otar Korgalidze (Jul 1, 2008 – Jun 30, 2009)
- Temur Makharadze (Jul 1, 2008 – Jun 30, 2010)
- Giorgi Kipshidze (Jul 1, 2010 – Mar 19, 2011)
- Khvicha Kasrashvili (Mar 18, 2011–1?)
- Vakhtang Chagelishvili (Jul 1, 2011–1?)
- Levan Bajelidze (Sept 15, 2011 – Jan 12, 2012)
- Khvicha Kasrashvili (Jan 15 – Aug 27, 2012)
- Armaz Jeladze (Aug 28, 2012 – Jun 1, 2013)
- Giorgi Kiknadze (Jun 1, 2013–Oct, 2013)
- Vladimir Burduli (Oct, 2013–)
- Koba Zhorzhikashvili (2017-2018)
- Teimuraz Shalamberidze (2018-2019)
- Davit Kokiashvili (Feb - Jul 2020)
- Varlam Kilasonia (Jul 2020 - June 2021)
Giorgi Daraselia (since June 2021)
Current squad
As of 7 August 2021[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Sponsors
Rich Metals Group, engaged in mining activities near Bolnisi, signed a first sponsorship contract with Sioni in 2016.[10]
Name
While Sioni is a Georgian equivalent of Zion, the football club is named after Bolnisi Sioni, the fifth century cathedral located near the current municipal centre.
References
- ^ "The Cup final of 2001/02 (in Georgian)". msy.gov.ge.
- ^
Reuters (2004-06-01). "UEFA Cup ban for Georgian club Sioni". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Umaglesi Liga 2005/06". rsssf.com.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League History, Season 2006–2007, First qualifying round". uefa.com. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League History, Season 2006–2007, Second qualifying round". uefa.com. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "CIS tournament 2007". Wildstat.
- ^ "Overall table of Umaglesi Liga". Wildstat.
- ^ "სიონი ეროვნულ ლიგაში დაბრუნდა". leadersport.ge (in Georgian). 27 November 2021. Retrieved 3 Dec 2021.
- ^ "Sioni squad for 2021". gff.ge.
- ^ "RMG becomes sponsor of Sioni". richemetalgroup.com.