Gagi Margvelashvili signed to Oakland Roots as an international player from Georgia in 2024, finishing last season with 2,178 minutes in 27 league appearances. But at the start of 2025, Margvelashvili became an afterthought under former head coach Gavin Glinton without any USL Championship starts and a total of 304 minutes through seven appearances. 249 of those minutes came in the U.S. Open Cup and USL Jagermeister Cup.
That has all seemed to change under new coach Benny Feilhaber.
“There are some big things that pop off the page with Gagi; his desire to win in games, win in training, making the players around him want to win as much as him, and his desire to compete,” Feilhaber said. “The other is his composure on the ball. He’s a guy that doesn’t get rattled when attackers are pressing him.”
Since Benny’s arrival, Gagi has already eclipsed his total minutes under Glinton with 315, including three straight starts and complete games against Monterey, Birmingham, and Colorado Springs. His resurgence in Roots’ lineup has been a marquee change with Feilhaber.
“He’s calm, he’s patient, and believes in his own ability to get out of difficult situations,” Feilhaber said.
Gagi came off the bench in Feilhaber’s debut versus El Paso Locomotive coming out of halftime. He instantly drew praise from the new gaffer.
“I thought the subs came in and made a massive difference. I thought Gagi was very, very good. Gagi was just cleaner with the ball in possession and finding the right passes,” Feilhaber said following their 0-0 tie with El Paso.
Over the last three matches, Margvelashvili has been rated as one of Oakland’s best players by FotMob, receiving grades of 7.8 against Monterey, 7.5 against Birmingham Legion, and 7.2 versus Colorado Springs.
He won a team-high of 10 duels against MBFC, to go along with two successful tackles in three attempts. He also won five duels against Birmingham and completed two passes into the final third. In his first league start of the season against Colorado Springs, Gagi won eight duels, won three of four tackles, completed eight passes into the final third and three long balls.
Feilhaber highlighted his playmaking ability as a defender following Saturday’s USL Cup win over Monterey Bay.
“Gagi makes the passes that break the lines. You need guys like that in what we’re trying to build. He also makes the guys around him calmer because of his ability to play the right pass at the right moment and puts guys in advantageous positions,” Feilhaber said.
“His composure is critical in what we’re trying to do,” he added.
Margvelashvili, 28, 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.
He 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. He signed with Oakland Roots in January 2024.
In 2025, Margvelashvili has appeared in 11 matches through all competitions for 621 total minutes.
One thought on “Oakland Roots CB Gagi Margvelashvili revived under HC Benny Feilhaber”