Today Boris Paichadze would turn 96 years old...

People fall in love with football in different way. Some of them are inspired by their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, some of them fall in love with football after watching it. I have heard from old football fans that Boris Paichadze inspired them to love football. It is renowned players’ duty. He was called “Football’s Caruso” in Romania. He was such type player that could win match alone. New generation knows about him only from books.
He was born in the village of Chokhatauri, Onchiketi (West Georgia) and wanted to become a sailor. He was working as mechanic at ship named “Tendra” and everyone was appraising him, but his friends wanted him to play football. They did their best. Once when Paichadze was to sail for a long time, they brought letter where his mother was writing – come soon, your father is to die.
Of course it was false letter, they made him come in Poti and play football. Since that time he was thinking only about football.
He was 6-year-old when he started playing football, but his father Solomon was not excited with it and he even was prohibiting him to play. Solomon Paichadze was playing Lelo Burti (Georgian folk sport, similar to Rugby) and he did not like football, but once when he was returning from job he was crowded, people were saying-come and see, how your son is playing. He went to the stadium, team of Poti was playing against Kharkov and people gathered at the stadium were screaming “Boria”. Players from Kharkov could not stop Paichadze, since that time Solomon did not prohibit him playing football any more.  
There is match, which is memorable fro everyone. Such match was held in 1939, “Dinamo” Tbilisi was playing against “CDKA “Moscow. After the first half “Dinamo” Tbilisi was losing 1:4. Lavrenti Beria entered to changing room and threatened to players and coaches… something had to be changed… at this time new idea stroke to Paichadze – we have to mass up attack, systematically have to change wings.  
Finally “Dinamo” Tbilisi won this match 5:4.
He played 16 seasons in “Dinamo” Tbilisi (1936-1951), 180 matches of Championship of Soviet Union and he scored 99 goals.
He was named the best played of  XX century and The largest stadium in Georgia, the Boris Paichadze Stadium in Tbilisi, is named after him.

Ilia Nanobashvili