Georgi Nemsadze, the former Georgia captain who became a cult hero at Dundee, has died at the age of 54. His death was announced on October 21, 2026, by Dinamo Tbilisi, the club where his career began and ended, which said it shared the news “with a heavy heart”. He was reported to have suffered a heart attack.
Georgia’s captain
Nemsadze, whose first name is also spelled Giorgi, was one of the leading figures of the first generation of players to represent independent Georgia. A composed, elegant midfielder, he won 69 caps between 1992 and 2004 and captained his country. His club career took him from Dinamo Tbilisi to Germany, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy, with spells at Hamburg, Trabzonspor, Grasshoppers and Reggiana.
Dundee’s cup hero
He is fondly remembered in Scotland for his time at Dundee, where he made 96 appearances and scored four goals. The most important of them came in the 2003 Scottish Cup semi-final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle: his late winner took the Dark Blues to their first Scottish Cup final in four decades. He was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Tributes
After retiring he moved into politics, standing for the ruling party in Georgia’s 2021 municipal elections. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called his death a tremendous loss for Georgian football, and Dundee led tributes from Scotland, where supporters still sing his name.