Career
Akhalkatsi coached Soviet club to the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics league championship in 1978, with a side that contained the likes of David Kipiani, Ramaz Shengelia, Vitaly Daraselia, Tengiz Sulakvelidze and Aleksandr Chivadze, all of whom were regular Soviet internationals. The team were renowned for their swashbuckling style of football and attack-minded approach. However, they were eliminated by West German side Hamburg in their next tie.
Two years later, Akhalkatsi enjoyed his finest moment as a manager when he guided Dinamo to victory in the 1981 Cup Winners" Cup final, beating East German outfit Carl Zeiss Jena in Düsseldorf"s Rheinstadion.
He was the organisation"s president from 1990 to 1998. He died of a heart attack in Tbilisi on 24 January 1998, aged 60, while on his way to attend a tournament in the city.