Daur Akhvlediani ( ka, დაურ ახვლედიანი, ; 10 October 1964 – 22 September 1993) was an Abkhaz professional football player. He took part in the

War in Abkhazia (1992–93) War in Abkhazia may refer to: * War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) * War in Abkhazia (1998) {{disambig ...

, subsequently died and was posthumously awarded the order Hero of Abkhazia, the highest honorary title of the disputed territory of

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

Life and career

Daur Akhvlediani was born in a Georgian family in

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Russian language, Russian and ) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia (country), Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Ga ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, which at that time was part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He started as a professional footballer in 1983, being drafted by

FC Torpedo Kutaisi FC Torpedo Kutaisi ( Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი ტორპედო ქუთაისი) is a Georgian professional football club based in Kutaisi, Georgia's third largest city. The team competes in the Erovnuli ...

. The following year, he joined FC Dinamo Sukhumi, at that time playing in the

Soviet Second League The Soviet Second League (, Soviet football championship (Second League)) was the third highest division of Soviet Union, Soviet football (soccer), football, below the Soviet First League. The league was formed in 1971 in place of the Class A Se ...

. He stayed at Dinamo until 1991 and became a permanent member of the regular team. In 1989, Dinamo was finally relegated to the

Soviet First League The Soviet First League in football () was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футболу)''. History of Soviet football championships. Volume 1 ...

(second highest league). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its football leagues, Akhvlediani joined Russian club Uralan Elista. In 1993, he left his club to take part in the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict on the separatist side. He was killed the same year, shortly before fighting ended. He was posthumously awarded the order Hero of Abkhazia by the de facto government. In his hometown of

, the

Daur Akhvlediani Stadium Daur Akhvlediani Stadium is the central stadium of Gagra city in Georgia. It is located on Nartaa Avenue. During the Abkhaz–Georgian conflict the stadium was seriously damaged and ceased to function. In 2007, it was reconstructed and 1,500 pla ...

is named after him.

External links

Daur Akhvlediani
at fcdinamo.su {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhvlediani, Daur 1964 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Abkhazia Soviet men's footballers FC Elista players FC Dinamo Sokhumi players FC Torpedo Kutaisi players Men's association football defenders People from Gagra Men's footballers from Georgia (country) Expatriate men's footballers in Russia