Oakland Roots announced the addition of center-back Gagi Margvelashvili on Friday.
Margvelashvili fits in as a presumptive starter to Oakland’s back line and becomes the fifth international player on the team. He’s split his career in the first tier of Georgian football, Erovnuli Liga, and the top tier of North Macedonia, the Macedonian First Football League.
He stands at 6 feet, 4 inches, while his second position is listed as right back, so he has some versatility similar to other signings by technical director Jordan Ferrell. He’s scored 14 goals throughout his professional career, including four in the 2022/2023 season with KF Shkupi of North Macedonia.
His film shows a player who can be a target man in the box with good positioning and strength. The two clips below are a stunning bicycle kick goal and a powerful header goal, providing the aerial target that Roots struggled to find last season. As a defender, Margvelashvili appears to be physical, using his strength to brush off attacking players. Film shows an instinctive ability to read passes and get a foot on the ball to force redirections.
Perhaps the most vital part of a center-back in Oakland’s lineup is distribution. Players like Danny Barbir and Emrah Klimenta were tasked to locate long, downfield passes into the attack, often going across field. Joseph Nane’s rotation to the back line was another example of how Roots wanted to play passes out of the back.
Some of Margvelashvili’s film shows a player who can pinpoint teammates on the wing.
Margvelashvili, 27, began his career with FC Saburtalo of Georgia in 2016-2021 and made 95 total appearances for the club including seven appearances in UEFA Champions or Europa League qualifiers.
From there, he signed with Dinamo Batumi of Georgia’s top division before making his way to KF Shkupi of the Macedonian First Football League. He made 46 appearances with KF Shkupi before briefly signing on with Dinamo Tbilisi back in Georgia, where had made three Champions League qualifier appearances.
For his career, Margvelashvili has appeared in 154 total matches with 145 starts, scoring 14 career goals. He’s won the Erovnuli Liga Super Cup twice (2020, 2023) and won the Georgian league twice with Saburtalo in 2018 and 2021, while they also won the David Kipiani Cup in 2019. He also helped KF Shkupi win its league in 2021/2022.
Here’s an updated tracker of all Oakland Roots’ news and transactions this offseason.