Former Georgia captain Giorgi Nemsadze has died at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack. The midfielder, became a cult hero with Dundee supporters during his three years at Dens Park, earned 69 caps for Georgia between 1992 and 2004.
Nemsadze began and ended his club career at Dinamo Tbilisi, while also playing in Germany for Hamburg, Turkey for Trabzonspor, Switzerland for Grasshopper Club Zurich and Italy for Reggiana.
The cultured midfielder joined Dundee in 2000 and spent three seasons with the club, where he also captained the side. He was inducted into Dundee’s Hall of Fame in 2010. His time in Scotland came towards the end of a playing career that also included spells at Georgian clubs Guria Lanchkhuti, Shevardeni Tbilisi and Lokomotiv Tbilisi.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze led tributes, describing Nemsadze as “an outstanding professional and a leader with a fighting spirit” and calling his death “a tremendous loss for Georgian football”.
Dundee issued a statement following news of Nemsadze’s death, “Everyone at Dundee Football Club is deeply saddened by the passing of former player and Hall of Fame inductee Giorgi Nemsadze aged 54…. Everyone at the club extends their condolences to Giorgi’s friends and family at this incredibly difficult time.”
Nemsadze later continued to be involved in Georgian football as sporting director of Dinamo Tbilisi and worked with young players, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during the Paris Saint-Germain forward’s teenage years.
He is survived by his family, with tributes continuing to arrive from former clubs, teammates and supporters in both Georgia and Scotland.