Georgia It is one of the teams that fans from the world of football are most eager to see in this Euro 2024, as it is the first time that they will play in the final phase of this tournament. The Caucasus country has brought together a talented generation, as they have several top-level players in their squad.
Precisely reviewing their squad, a detail that is repeated in several of their players stands out: their surnames end in ‘-shvili’. Of the 26 players that coach Willy Sagnol has selected, 10 meet this condition. For example, this is the case of one of its stars who is well known in Spain, Giorgi Mamardashvili.
The Valencia goalkeeper is joined by Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabağ), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante) , Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova) and Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi).
Why do their last names end in ‘-shvili’
As with ‘ic’ in Croatia, the ending ‘-shvili’ means ‘son of’ in Georgian. Therefore, the explanation why so many surnames have this suffix lies in the fact that in the past it was added to the father’s name to form the son’s surname. To understand it better, the surname Mamardashvili means ‘Son of Mamarda’.
Still, it is not something that is true of all people with Georgian ancestors. In fact, this is the case of another of the stars of the Georgian National Team, Khvicha Kvaratskheliawhose surname has nothing to do with the ending ´-shvili’.
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