Zurab’s show of defiance to world

11:20am Wednesday 20th August 2008

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Blackburn Rovers defender Zurab Khizanishvili admits he’s in for an emotional rollercoaster as he prepares to face Wales at the Liberty Stadium tonight.

For Khizanishvili, the dark shadow that has descended on his Georgian homeland pushes football into the background.

He said: “We will play the match as a message to the world, that Georgia is capable of doing so.

“More than 2,000 soldiers have been killed, plus people in the villages, maybe 5,000 in all. It is terrible.

“But playing this game is sending out a message to the world, we are a small country but we can show how big we are.”

Khizanishvili added: “It is hard for us to play, to think about football considering what is happening in Georgia.

"But maybe things are starting to get better and within a few days the Russians will have left.

“It is hard for us, but we have to play the game.

"We cannot allow ourselves to feel that because of what is happening that we are not ready for the game, we have to play.

“The manager has asked us if we are ready, because he needs to know.

"But we have all said we will play, we want to send a message to Russia that we can do this.

“We also want to show our people and our supporters who will be in the stadium.

“We have a new manager, so we have to work together.”