Sturm Star Otar Kiteishvili Speaks About Coach's Departure

Fans of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga recently found three familiar names from the domestic league in the Georgian senior national team squad.

Sturm Graz star Otar Kiteishvili, who has recently been plagued by injuries, is on board, and his teammate Gizo Mamageishvili also plays there.

However, his twin brother Otar Mamageishvili had to be dropped from the squad again; the WAC professional is injured.

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There were also turbulences on the coaching bench. Long-serving national team coach and former Bayern professional Willy Sagnol had to leave mid-national team training camp after a 0-1 loss against Northern Ireland.

Ramaz Svanadze took over the vacant position. Kiteishvili made it clear at a press conference after the coaching change: "A big thank you to Willy Sagnol. We have come a long way with him and achieved the greatest success in our history. Unfortunately, we haven't delivered results lately. The players are aware of their responsibility."

Sturm Star Played From Start For The First Time Again

Under Sagnol, the injury-plagued Sturm professional played 13 minutes against Northern Ireland. Before that, he had only made two substitute appearances since his comeback for Sturm.

New coach Ramaz Zvanadze immediately put Kiteishvili in the starting XI for the 0-0 draw against Ukraine, where he played 73 minutes. Before the match, the Sturm professional said: "It's been a long time, but I played a few games before the training camp – even if I never started. How much I play is up to the coach."

Kiteishvili's last start before that was in June 2026 in the friendly against Bahrain (2-0). At club level, he has only made substitute appearances for Sturm this season.