Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mikheil Meskhi | ||
Date of birth | 12 January 1937 | ||
Place of birth | Tbilisi, USSR | ||
Date of death | 22 April 1991 | (aged 54)||
Place of death | Tbilisi, USSR | ||
Height | 1.69m (5ft 6¾in) | ||
Playing position | Winger | ||
Youth career | |||
School No. 35 Tbilisi | |||
– | FShM Tbilisi | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1954–1969 | FC Dinamo Tbilisi | 284 | (54) |
1970 | FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi | 4 | (0) |
National team | |||
1959–1966 | USSR | 35 | (4) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Mikheil Meskhi (Georgian: მიხეილ მესხი; Russian: Михаил Шалвович Месхи; born 12 January 1937 in Tbilisi; died 22 April 1991 in Tbilisi) was a Georgian footballer. Nicknamed the "Georgian Garrincha" for his dazzling wing play, Meskhi was a creative force on the left flank for the Soviet Union.
During his career he played for Dynamo Tbilisi (1954-1969) and Lokomotiv Tbilisi (1970). He earned 35 caps for the USSR national football team, and participated in the 1962 World Cup. He also appeared on the Soviet squad for the first ever European Nations' Cup in 1960, which the Soviets won.
In 1998, Meskhi was voted the best player in the history of Georgian football, and a member of the 20th-century Georgian "Dream Team."