Samson Pruidze

Samson Pruidze
Personal information
Full name	Samson Pruidze
Date of birth	6 October 1957 (age 67)
Place of birth	Kutaisi, Georgian SSR
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Samgurali Tskaltubo
Youth career
	Torpedo Kutaisi
	Energetik Terjola
	Zoovetinstitut Tbilisi
Senior career*
Years	Team
1983	Dinamo Tbilisi
1984−1988	Torpedo Kutaisi
Managerial career
1994	Samgurali Tskhaltubo
1994−1995	Margveti Zestafoni
1995−1996	Samgurali Tskhaltubo
1996−1998	Torpedo Kutaisi
1998−2000	Iberia Samtredia
2002−2003	Torpedo Kutaisi
2004−2005	Borjomi
2008−2020	Chikhura Sachkhere
2020	Locomotive Tbilisi
2021	Samgurali Tskhaltubo
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Samson (Soso) Pruidze (Georgian: სამსონ (სოსო) ფრუიძე) (born 6 October 1957 in Kutaisi) is a retired Georgian and Soviet football player and later Georgian manager.

Player

Soso Pruidze spent an uneventful season at Dinamo Tbilisi at a time when the club was experiencing the change of generations following the Cup Winner's 1981 Cup glory. Then followed five seasons in Torpedo Kutaisi as a right defender, including in the Soviet Top League.

Coach

Pruidze has been in charge of different clubs. He earned a first silverware in 2003 with Torpedo Kutaisi when the team came 2nd in the league after three consecutive Championship wins.

Pruidze became mostly known for a long-time managerial career at the helm of Chikhura Sachkhere.^[1] Apart from these twelve years being record-breaking in Georgian league history, Pruidze first guided the team to the top tier, then to national Cup and Super Cup titles, also to the silver medals.^[2] The fifth place was the lowest Chikhura took during his reign. Given the number of trophies, these years between 2012 and 2020 are known as the golden period in the history of this club. In a statement Pruidze pointed out that he felt exhausted and needed a rest.^[3]

In April 2021, Soso Pruidze was appointed as head coach of Samgurali Tskaltubo,^[4] where he had started his coaching career in 1994. His return marked another attempt to win the Georgian Cup. The team beat four opponents and reached the final for the second time in a row but failed to clinch the title.