Everyone at Dundee Football Club is deeply saddened by the passing of former player and Hall of Fame inductee Giorgi Nemsadze aged 54.
Nemsadze was Ivano Bonetti’s first signing for the Dee in 2000, and the Georgia captain brought 52 international caps and a wealth of European football experience to Dens Park. After featuring in a friendly against Raith Rovers, he soon showed what he was capable of with a magnificent solo effort against Grimsby Town.
His dazzling footwork was always on show, and in November he scored one of the most breathtaking goals in the club’s history in a derby at Tannadice. Barry Smith played the ball forward from the back to Claudio Caniggia, and though his pass was slightly behind Nemsadze, the midfielder simply dragged the ball into his path, left three defenders in his wake and from a tight angle on the left of United’s box, he sublimely chipped Alan Combe to finish off a goal he was quoted as dubbing “my best moment” in the Sunday Herald in 2007.
Nemsadze also scored in the game which secured a top-six finish that season, opening the scoring against Aberdeen at Pittodrie in a 2-0 win.
Though the following season brought a serious injury for Giorgi which kept him out for months, he had found a home on Tayside that other locations in his diverse career just could not provide. Prior to coming to Dens, his path had taken him to Germany with F.C. Homburg, to Turkey with Trabzonspor, Switzerland with Grasshoppers and Italy with Reggiana to name a few. But, having had five different clubs in the 12 months before coming to the City of Discovery, Dundee provided Nemsadze with stability and a platform to show off his wares.
When he returned from injury, Dundee had a new manager in Jim Duffy and were about to embark on a “Road to Hampden” in the Scottish Cup which would take Dundee on the “Road to Europe”.
Giorgi helped pave that road, appearing in all five matches along the way to the final and contributing goals in the third round victory away to Partick Thistle with a wonderful free-kick and in the semi final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, sliding home a low shot from the edge of the box with 12 minutes to go to secure a 1-0 win and a first Scottish Cup final since 1964. With league champions Rangers waiting in the final, Nemsadze’s strike sealed Dundee’s passport to Europe for the first time in twenty-nine years.
That passport would take Dundee to Albania in the preliminary round, where no Scottish side had ever won. But with Giorgi in his natural environment with more room to play, he dazzled against K.S. Vllaznia, dictating the tempo throughout. A superb ball to Steve Lovell set up the opener, and the 2-0 first leg win was supplanted with a 4-0 victory in the second leg to set up a glamour first round tie.
That glamour came over in the Italian region of Umbria, where over 2000 Dees made the pilgrimage to Perugia. Unfortunately, they were to be disappointed when Dundee could not overturn the 2-1 first leg deficit, going down 1-0 to the Intertoto Cup holders.
Further disappointment followed a month later when Dundee fell into administration, and Nemsadze was one of 15 players released in an effort to cut the wage bill.
Giorgi’s three and a half years at Dens provided many highlights for the Dundee faithful however, and the man with dazzling skill made 17 appearances for Georgia during his time at Dens.
In April 2010, Nemsadze’s lasting affection for the club was returned when he was inducted to the Hall of Fame, receiving the international award in a city he had previously called his “second home”.
He gave the fans one last chance to see him in dark blue in 2015, when he featured in Julian Speroni’s testimonial.
Everyone at the club extends their condolences to Giorgi’s friends and family at this incredibly difficult time.
