Georgia is a country with a rich footballing history, dating back to the late 1800s. The first football club in Georgia was founded in 1882, and the first official football match was played in 1898.
Georgia has yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup or the European Championship, but the team has come close on several occasions. In the 2004 European Championship qualifiers, Georgia finished third in their group, just one point behind Scotland and Russia.
In recent years, Georgian football has experienced a resurgence. The country’s national team is now ranked 86th in the FIFA World Rankings, and several Georgian players are playing for top clubs in Europe.
One of the most successful Georgian footballers of all time is Kakha Kaladze. Kaladze won two Champions League titles with AC Milan and was named Georgian Footballer of the Year a record six times.
Top 5 Georgian footballers
Georgia is a country with a rich footballing heritage, having produced some of the world’s most talented players over the years. From the legendary Kakha Kaladze to the current crop of stars, Georgian footballers have made their mark on the global stage.
In this article, we will take a statistical look at some of Georgia’s best football players, both past and present. We will examine their key stats and assess their contribution to their teams and the country as a whole.
Davit Khocholava
Davit Khocholava is a professional Georgian footballer. Currently, he is playing as a centre-back for Georgia national team and Copenhagen. Tbilisi native began his football career in Subur Talo. Khocholava played as a striker during his youth career. However, later on, his manager Devdariani proposed to him to play in defence, and he accepted it.
Khocholava made his debut for the senior team on January 23 2017, in a friendly against Uzbekistan. On July 6 2021, he signed a four-year contract for FC Copenhagen. With the club, Khocholava has won the Danish Superliga in season 2021-22.
Zuriko Davitashvili
Zuriko Davitashcili is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for club Bordeaux and the Georgia national team. He’s also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder. On September 29, 2017, Davitashvili made his professional debut for Dinamo Tbilisi against Kolkheti Poti.
Davitashvili signed with Locomotive Tbilisi in 2018, and in the same year, ‘The Guardian’ featured him among the 60 best young players worldwide. In June 2019, he signed a three-year deal with Russian Premier League Rubin Kazan. In 2020, UEFA added Zuriko Davitashvili to the list of fifty young talents.
Giorgi Mamardashvili
Giorgi Mamardashvili is a Georgian football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Spanish club Valencia and Georgia national team. Much of his youth years was spent at Dinamo Tbilisi. After signing a professional contract with Dinamo, he was loaned to other Erovnuli Liga teams for three seasons. And eventually transferred to Valencia.
Mamardashvili became the first Georgian goalkeeper to play in the Spanish top tier. With his excellent performance, he has established himself as a first-choice goalkeeper for the club. This season, Giorgi Mamardashvili has played 18 league games, recording eight shutouts. He played 560 minutes uninterrupted without giving up a goal.
Mamardashvili was chosen king of the game prize three times for his unmatched league performances. Also, he was a member of the La Liga’s symbolic team for two weeks.
Georges Mikautadze
Georges Mikautadze is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club Ajax and Georgia national team. In 2007, Milkautadze started his youth career with FC Gerland, and after one year, he joined ‘Academy of Olympique Lyon’ and played until 2015. From 2015 to 2016, he joined Saint-Priest. Eventually, Mikautadze joined his last youth club, FC Metz, before making his debut in the senior team. From 2016 to 2018, he played for Metz’s youth club.
On December 7 2019, Mikautadze made his professional senior team debut with Metz in a 4-1 Ligue1 loss to Nice. Later, on December 10 2019, he signed his first professional contract of four years with Metz.
In March 2021, Georges Mikautadze got the first call-up for the Georgia national team from the French coach Willy Sagnol. On his selection to the national team, Mikautadze told the press that he had been always dreaming about playing for Georgia since his childhood.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratakhelia is a Georgian football player who serves as a left winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Georgia national team. As a kid, he started his career with Dinamo Tbilisi and played from 2012 to 2017. At the age of 16, in 2017, he made his senior team debut playing for Dinamo before moving to Rustavi, where he spent half a season.
Kvaratakhelia won two consecutive Russian Premier League Best Young Player awards during his combined three-year contract at Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan. In 2022, after having a short spell at Dinamo Batumi, Kvaratakhelia signed for Napoli. In his debut season, he guided the club to the UEFA Champion League and won the Serie A title in 33 years and ended up as the league’s top assist provider for the season.
Such outstanding performance makes him earn the Champions League’s Young Player of the Season. In February 2023, with three goals and an assist, Kvaratakheliatitle was chosen Serie A Player of the Month.
History and Famous players in Georgian Football
Georgian football history is comparatively shorter than that of other nations. More than 200 players have played at least one professional game since its beginning. The Georgian football team’s first match took place in 1990 while Georgia was still a part of the Soviet Union. The match was played against Lithuania, and the friendly match ended with a 2-2 draw.
In 1992, the Georgian Football Federation became a member of both UEFA and FIFA, which enabled Georgia to play competitive matches at the international level. The Georgian team have made various attempts to qualify for each major tournament from Euro 1996 Onwards.
On June 26, 1994, in a 3-1 victory against Latvia, Georgi Nemsadze became the first player of the Georgian football team to earn 10 caps. The midfielder, Levan Kobiashvili, has the record for most appearances with 100 in competitive matches in a time period between 1996 and 2011. The great defender Zurab Khizanishvili has the longest national team career with 92 appearances for Georgia’s national team over a 16-year span from 1999 to 2015.
Striker Shota Arveladze has a record of the highest goal-scoring for Georgia national team. Here we have 5 best Georgian footballers in the world currently.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the many great Georgian football players. Georgia has a bright future in football, with many talented young players coming through the ranks. It will be interesting to see which Georgian players go on to achieve great things in the years to come.
In addition to the individual stats and contributions of these players, it is also worth noting the overall impact that Georgian players have had on the game. Georgian players have helped to popularize football in their country and have inspired a new generation of players. Georgian players have also shown that it is possible to succeed at the highest level of football, even if you come from a relatively small country.
