Vitaly Daraselia

Vitaly Daraselia

Personal information
Full name	Vitaly Kukhinovich Daraselia
Date of birth	(1957-10-09)9 October 1957
Place of birth	Ochamchira, USSR
Date of death	13 December 1982(1982-12-13) (aged 25)
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1974	Amirani Ochamchire
1975–1982	FC Dinamo Tbilisi	192	(26)
International career
1978–1982	USSR	22	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vitaly Kukhinovich Daraselia (Georgian: ვიტალი დარასელია) (9 October 1957 – 13 December 1982) was a Georgian football player.

Born to a Georgian father and Abkhaz mother, Daraselia played for FC Dinamo Tbilisi and Soviet Union national team. Daraselia is mostly remembered for his wonderful winning goal for FC Dinamo Tbilisi in 1981, in the final game of UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, rushing into the penalty area past two defenders, just 3 minutes before the full time whistle. He died in a car crash in 1982, the same year he played his only World Cup, at the peak of his career.

His son, Vitaly Daraselia Jr., is a talented soccer player too. In September 1978, when FC Dinamo Tbilisi was going to play against SSC Napoli in Italy, Vitaly's wife was expecting their second child. Before the game Daraselia told his teammates, that he would name his son after the one who would score the goal. Vitaly scored himself.

The stadium in Daraselia's home town of Ochamchire in Abkhazia bears his name. In December 2009, Daraselia's mother reported that the footballer's house-museum in Ochamchire was plundered and burned down.

External links

• pictures of Vitali Daraselia
• Vitaly Daraselia at National-Football-Teams.com
• Vitaly Daraselia – FIFA competition record (archived)