The cup final opposed Dinamo Tbilisi and Dinamo Moscow. The Moscovites were expected to win – they had few players participating in the Spartakiad, which finished just before the final and the team was fresh. Dinamo Tbilisi were in poor form and had injured players, including their star David Kipiani. They also provided almost the whole squad of Team Georgia, which finished with silver medals at the Spartakiad, so they were tired. The final was traditionally played in Moscow – another advantage for Dinamo M. The predictions seemed right in the first half of the final – Dinamo Moscow chose astonishing fast tempo, which, to the eye, pressed the Georgians into defense. Nikulin was assigned to mark the rapidly rising striker Shengelia and managed to neutralize him. Manuchar Machaidze, the key midfielder of Tbilisi, was neutralized in similar way. The biggest troubles were expected from Gutzaev, as ever – but he was notoriously moody player, the very reason he rarely played for the national team: one could never tell what Gutzaev would do – play fantastic match, or fall asleep. It was the latter in the first half. Dinamo Tbilisi was unable to slow down the tempo and get advantage of their better technical skills. They were pushed back into defense. It looked like Dinamo Moscow was going to win easily – but as minutes ticked away, the dominance proved to be more of an illusion. The speedy approach was not exactly benefiting the Moscow team – they were not skilful enough and made great many mistakes in passing. They mostly run around, but the Georgian defense – particularly the central defenders Khinchagashvili and Chivadze – easily deciphered the simple ideas of opposition, took full advantage of their passing mistakes, and generally were in control. Dinamo Tbilisi appeared outplayed, but the dangerous moments were few – and then the young talented goalkeeper Gabelia excelled. The first half ended as seemingly one-horse race, but in reality the Georgians were not in grave danger – it was clear that the Moscovites were above themselves: their own tempo destroyed their precision. The problem for the Georgians so far was attack – they were unable to slow down the tempo and organize counter-attacks. The midfield was dominated by the Moscovites, Gutzaev was entirely out of the game, and Shengelia was tightly marked.
The second half started like the first, but Tbilisi made a change and Kipiani came on the pitch, replacing Koridze. The aggressive fast game of the Moscovites misfired – it was ineffective so far, they run out of ideas and their mistakes continued. With Kipiani on the pitch things started to change – the elegant attacking midfielder was difficult to mark, he was dangerous in attack, and his creativity suddenly awoke Gutzaev. Tbilisi equalized the game and turned it over – in the last 15 minutes they were the more dangerous team, their Moscow namesakes pushed back into defense. But no goals were scored.
The extra time did not change anything – Tbilisi were tired to begin with and extra time was no help, but curiously it was the Moscow team which looked in worse shape: their own speed exhausted them even before the regular time ended. Dinamo Tbilisi appeared fresher and controlled the extra time, but they were only slightly more dangerous than Moscow and unable to score. 120 minutes passed without a goal and 65 000 spectators were to experience the drama of cup final in full: it was to be decided by penalty kicks. After the game the football statistician Sergey Essenin recalled that once upon a time tied games were decided by the number of corner kicks: amusingly, such a rule would not have determined anything this day – the opponents were tied in that as well: 8-8. Post-factum, Essenin also suggested that dragging the match to penalty kicks tipped the chances in favour of Tbilisi: Dinamo Moscow lost all their important matches when coming to penalty kicks since 1973. But it is easy to be clever after the end of a game… The shoot-out started with David Kipiani – and he missed! He never missed a penalty before…
Dinamo Moscow captain Makhovikov started the penalties for his team. He was the best player of his team this day… and he missed. Gutzaev next for Tbilisi – and he missed too. Maksimenkov scored the first goal – for Moscow. Chivadze equalized. Petrushin missed. Daraselia gave Tbilisi a lead. Pavlenko equalized. Shengelia made it 3-2. Bubnov equalized. Manuchar Machaidze made it 4-3. Tolstykh equalized. Sulakvelidze scored – 5-4. V. Gazzaev kicked the ball – Gabelia guessed rightly and saved, winning the cup!
Dinamo Tbilisi won the dramatic final.
The captain of Dinamo Tbilisi Manuchar Machaidze and the hero goalkeeper Otar Gabelia make their run of triumph with the cup. Happy moment, against the odds, and in front of fans, generally supporting the other team. It was the second cup for Dinamo Tbilisi and the 4th trophy in their history. It was also continuation of their successful decade. It was second trophy in a row, and although they were not in good form, still managed to win – champions 1978, cup winners in 1979. As for the losing finalists… too bad.
A moment of the final illustrating the ups and downs… David Kipiani running clear from A. Minaev (left) and E. Lovchev. He did not start the match and missed a penalty, but ended with the cup. One can pity Evgeny Lovchev… he left Spartak Moscow because he got tired from mediocrity and wanted to win. And what an irony… Spartak won the championship in 1979, Dinamo lost the cup, and Lovchev was on the losing side again. Symbolic picture too: Minaev and Lovchev left in the dust, no longer national team players, an old guard brushed aside; Kipiani going forward, at his prime and defining the current Soviet football even when injured and not at his best. And age has nothing to do… Minaev was 25, Kipiani – 28, and Lovchev – 30… it was not the age, but the kind of football – Moscow Dinamo was yesterday’s football, Tbilisi – tomorrow’s. Literally, as it turned out.
Here they are, the Cup winners: crouching, from left: N. Kakilashvili, R. Shengelia, V. Gutzaev, O. Gabelia, G. Machaidze.
Standing: V. Daraselia, T. Sulakvelidze, M. Machaidze – captain, A. Chivadze, D. Kipiani, S. Khinchagashvili.
A good team by all accounts, but there was something else: when Manuchar Machaidze spoke of his teammates after the game, he pointed out the cup experience of the squad – there were veterans, who got their first taste in 1968. Then there were those from 1971-72, followed by large group of 1976 cup winners, and finally – young brooms, getting on board after 1976. The captain spoke only of cup finals experience, but nevertheless his words reveal something rare: so far, Dinamo Tbilisi successfully avoided the typical decline when generations changed. The club somehow managed to blend newcomers painlessly. Retiring veterans did not open a gap. For then years Dinamo Tbilisi managed to rebuild without any pain and seemingly were still able to do so – there were three veterans from 1968: David Gogia, Piruz Kanteladze, and Shota Khinchagashvili. Back then they were young hopefuls. Now Gogia and Kanteladze were 30-years old and no longer regulars – and not making fuss about it. Khinchagashvili was 28 and key player, but it was clear that Chivadze and Sulakvelidze were taking the leading position from the captain of the 1976 cup winning squad. The 1976 group was the in its prime and the core the team: David Kipiani, Vladimir Gitzaev, Manuchar Machaidze, Gocha Machaidze, Vakhtang Koridze, David Mudzhiri, Nodar Khizanishvili, plus the ‘young brooms’ of the same year – Aleksander Chivadze, Revaz Chelebadze, and Vakhtang Kopaleishvili, Vitaly Daraselia. And there was the younger talent, rapidly gaining fame – Ramaz Shengelia, Otar Gabelia, Tengiz Sulakvelidze, Tamaz Kostava. The gradual replacement of old players was very smooth – for instance, at the beginning of the 1979 season Givi Nodia, the long time winger, was listed as a player. By the time of the Cup final – late summer of 1979 – Nodia was no longer a player, but an assistant coach. He was 31 years old. The very age the active veterans were – Gogia, now a back-up goalkeeper, was 31; Kanteladze – also a reserve player – was 30. Only two players of the same age were regulars – Koridze and Manuchar Machaidze, both 30 years old. And it was clear that they were going to step down soon – the team was lead by the next generation – Chivadze (24) in defense, Kipiani (28) in midfield, and increasingly Shengelia (22) in attack. The veterans were giving up their positions gracefully and no tremors occurred, unlike any other club. The current regulars were more than impressive: Gabelia (26) between the goal-posts, Sulakvelidze (23), Khinchagashvili (28), Chivadze (24), and Mudzhiri (23) in defense; M. Machaidze (30), Kipiani (28), Koridze (30) in midfield; Gutzaev (27), Chelebadze (24), and Shengelia (22) in attack. Khizanishvili (26), Kostava (23), Daraselia (22), G. Machaidze (29), and Kopaleishvili (25) were not exactly reserves, but more like regulars – there was good rotation in the squad, a really strong group of 15-16 players and promising youngsters behind them. Almost all of the above played for the national team of USSR, but Chivadze, Sulakvelidze, and Shengelia were to be the key players of blossoming national team of the 1980s. It was a team ready for the future – and although 1979 was not exactly great year for Dinamo Tbilisi, the more or less lucky win of the cup opened the door for their finest ever season. Nobody knew that in 1979, of course. And given the shaky season the Georgians had, nobody would have predicted international success – but it was to come and these very same players were going to achieve it.