After a blistering start to their league campaign, Dinamo Tbilisi have somewhat stuttered of late. After losing to Samgurali, Dinamo went into the game against Telavi looking to bounce back, and that is exactly what they did. Dinamo treated us to a dominating performance from start to finish as they ran out 6-1 winners and looked to regain their momentum in the Erovnuli Liga. Goals from Imran Oulad Omar, Giorgi Maisuradze, Ousmane Camara, Vagner, Aleksandre Kalandadze and Davit Skhirtladze ensured the game was something of an overwhelming victory for Dinamo.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Gabriel Sigua
Player profile:
- Nationality: Georgian
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 30/06/2005
- Current club: Dinamo Tbilisi
- Career: Dinamo Tbilisi (Y)
- Position: Central Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
I’ve been waxing lyrical about the abilities of Gabriel Sigua for a while now, the young midfielder possesses an incredible amount of talent that quite frankly makes you forget just how young he is. The first thing that is immediately noticeable about Sigua is his physical profile, for his age, he is physically very impressive for a player of just 17. He stands at approximately 1.89m tall and is physically very strong, he is able to hold the ball up well or hold off his marker when necessary. Sigua is very calm and composed in the middle of the park but is still incredibly tenacious and fights for every ball. Never more so than when possession has just been lost. In this game, he was able to win most of his duels and frequently displayed great awareness of when to battle with his opponent who found Sigua’s physicality difficult to deal with throughout.
In terms of his tactical abilities, Gabriel Sigua lined up as the right sided central midfielder in Dinamo’s 4-1-4-1 tactical system. He has the freedom to get forward as much as he likes, especially when the two wingers are stretching the pitch as wide as possible. The 17-year-old was able to ghost into the Telavi penalty area, often unmarked. Moreover, despite Telavi’s 5-4-1 formation, Sigua was able to demonstrate great awareness and find pockets of space which enabled him to provide a great attacking outlet for Dinamo. He was willing to make runs into the wide areas, dragging opposition defenders with him in order to create space for teammates to exploit. Additionally, he was hovering around zone 14 on many occasions throughout the game and was often in the areas that we would associate with a traditional number 10. His excellent positioning is not just an asset in attack, Sigua is averaging 3.13 interceptions per 90 which shows us that he is able to read the play very well in order to cut off opposition passing lanes and recover possession.
Technically, Sigua is very adept, he showcased many quick ‘around the corner’ passes that enabled Dinamo to ensure their attack continued at a swift pace in order to break through Telavi’s defensive structure. Throughout the season, Sigua has an average pass accuracy rating of 84% and in this particular game, he averaged 78%, of course this was a commanding performance from Dinamo Tbilisi but we can see that overall he is very reliable when passing the ball. This is an excellent quality for a midfielder to possess as it means that he is able to link the play with great ease which makes Dinamo’s transitions from defence to attack very effective. We didn’t get to witness his dribbling skills in this game, in fact Sigua is more likely to look for a pass than carry the ball, but that doesn’t mean he cannot do this.
Dinamo’s young starlet appears to have a great attitude, he has a great work ethic which was on display throughout. He is always willing to track back and do the defensive work and is a thorn in the opposition side due to his intelligence and tactical knowledge. His tenacious tendencies could eventually get the better of him as he is often willing to cover a vast area of ground to put in a tackle or attempt to win the ball but on the whole he appears very calm and composed.
Rating – A1
Gabriel Sigua is a wonderfully talented player who has already made his debut for the Georgian national team. There is no doubt that we will see him playing in a T5 league in the future.
Giorgi Maisuradze
Player profile:
- Nationality: Georgian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 31/01/2002
- Current club: Dinamo Tbilisi
- Career: Dinamo Tbilisi (Y)
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Giorgi Maisuradze is another player who has come through the youth system at Dinamo Tbilisi, the fullback has played seven games so far this season and has caught the eye on a couple of occasions. He stands at approximately 1.91m and is reasonably strong. He is very athletic and is able to run up and down the right flank consistently, he also possesses a decent recovery speed should he be forced to track back as the opposition look to counterattack.
Tactically the young full back shows good awareness as he is able to read the play well and he is able to position himself well to cut out passes and prevent counterattacks. He is rarely forced into a sliding tackle, indicating that it is not often that Maisuradze is forced into last ditch defending. He is a very attacking fullback which is wonderful for Dinamo, especially as Vagner looked to cut inside throughout. This meant there were plenty of opportunities for Maisuradze to get forward down the right flank.
In terms of technical ability, Maisuradze is a very skillful player, he showcased plenty of neat touches and flicks throughout the game. He linked up very well with the aforementioned Sigua who often looked to bring Maisuradze into play on the right wing. Maisuradze’s ball carrying skills are very useful in transition and he is a great outlet as Dinamo look to build an attack. Additionally, he is a decent crosser of the ball, though perhaps accuracy is something that needs to be improved a little in this area.
The highlight of Maisuradze’s performance though, has got to be the goal he scored in the 26th minute. Dinamo executed a swift counterattack down the left flank and then quickly switched the play over to the right where Maisuradze was making a run forwards. He received the ball, took one touch and then hit a powerful shot from the edge of the area which thundered past the goalkeeper, hit the underside of the bar and went in. Maisuradze appears to be a very confident young player, he communicated well with his teammates during the game. He is also a very tenacious player but is controlled in his tackling and duels with opponents. He has picked up two yellow cards in his seven first team appearances so far which is nothing to worry about.
Rating – A2
Overall, Giorgi Maisuradze is another gem from the Dinamo Tbilisi academy. Having only just broken into the first team, I expect him to stay at Dinamo for a few seasons but he is likely to catch the eye of other European clubs.
Giorgi Moistsrapishvili
Player profile:
- Nationality: Georgian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 29/09/2001
- Current club: Dinamo Tbilisi
- Career: Dinamo Tbilisi (Y)
- Position: Central Midfield, Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Standing at approximately 1.83 – 1.85m Moistsrapishvili is a commanding presence in the centre of the park. He was brought on in the 52nd minute of this game against Telavi, to replace Barnes Osei in the defensive midfield role. He is a physical player who is reasonably successful in his battles in the middle. In this game, he was very physically brave and courageous which saw him most of his duels on the ground.
He possesses a wonderful vision, which was on show from the moment he entered the game. The talented midfielder was able to play deft passes and brilliantly weighted passes that brought teammates into play, he ended the game with a 95% pass accuracy rating. This is something that Moistsrapishvili has been demonstrating all season, with a pass accuracy rating of 91% plus, his long passes reach their target 69% of the time. He is very reliable in possession and is able to play short sharp passes into teammates or he can play long passes over the top which cause the opposition defence so many problems. He’s equally as comfortable when carrying the ball and is more than happy to progress the play himself. Perhaps, the only thing lacking from such a talented midfielder is the number of assists – Moistsrapishvili has chipped in with two assists so far this season, with his passing ability and vision there’s no reason why he couldn’t contribute even more in terms of creativity.
Tactically, he is very astute and this is especially on show when he is deployed as a defensive midfielder. The young midfielder has a strong positional sense and is able to maintain a disciplined position in front of the defence. He showed throughout his time on the pitch that he was aware of the movements of both opponents and teammates and adjusted his position accordingly. He manages to remain composed under pressure and make smart decisions. Additionally, he has high levels of stamina in order to cover a large area of the pitch and make timely interceptions.
Rating – A1
On the whole, he is a very talented young player who most likely will attract teams from the T5 leagues in the near future.
Aleksandre Kalandadze
Player profile:
- Nationality: Georgian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 09/05/2001
- Current club: Dinamo Tbilisi
- Career: Dinamo Tbilisi (Y), Diósgyőr
- Position: Centre Back, Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
The 22-year-old defender Aleksandre Kalandadze entered the fray in the 52nd minute, replacing Jemal Tabidze as the left sided centre back for Dinamo. Standing at 1.83m, Kalandadze is a decent height for a centre back and possesses a good jumping reach so he is able to win his aerial duels often. He is not shy of battling with an opponent. It is difficult to analyse Kalandadze’s defensive attributes based on this game alone, as the scoreline suggests Dinamo did very little defending.
His tactical ability was on show as he headed home from a corner for Dinamo’s fifth goal of the game. He was able to use good off the ball movement and his physical strength to lose his maker and create enough space around him that it was essentially a free header. At the other end of the pitch, when asked to defend, he did so with relative ease. Kalandadze possesses good footballing intelligence and is able to position himself well in order to cut out opposition passes.
Aleksandre Kalandadze shines due to his technical abilities, he is a good passer of the ball who is calm and controlled when making decisions about who to pass to. With an accuracy rating of 90.8% so far, we can infer that he is very reliable and his passes generally reach their desired target. Additionally he is always looking to play the ball forward and be progressive which is a sign of a good ball playing defender. Mentally he appears to be very relaxed and composed and was able to remain focused despite Dinamo being so far ahead. There was not a hint of complacency in his performance which shows he is a great team player.
Rating – B1