Georgi Kinkladze

Georgi Kinkladze (გიორგი ქინქლაძე, ; born 6 July 1973), also spelled Georgiou, or Giorgi, or shortened to Gio, is a Georgian former footballer who played as a playmaking midfielder.

Born in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, his first professional club was Mretebi Tbilisi.

In Georgia he won three league titles and two cups with Dinamo Tbilisi, and was named national player of the year twice.

Georgi Kinkladze was born on 6 July 1973 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was then part of the Soviet Union.

As a child, he lived in the Didube district of the city with his father, Robinzon (an engineer), his mother Khatuna (a teacher) and his elder sister.

Robinzon was keen to see his son succeed as a footballer, sometimes making him walk around the family home on his knees to strengthen his legs, and enrolled him for Dinamo Tbilisi's junior side when he was six years old.

Khatuna disapproved of some of her husband's methods, instead taking Georgi to lessons in mtiuluri, a traditional Georgian ballet.

Over the next few years, Kinkladze played in Dinamo Tbilisi's youth teams, progressing as far as the reserve team, where he played alongside Shota Arveladze, who would later become his teammate at both senior and international level.

When Georgian football formed leagues independent of Soviet competition in 1989, a family friend arranged for Kinkladze to move to Mretebi Tbilisi, the first openly professional club in the Soviet Union.

Mretebi Tbilisi were a smaller club playing at a lower level, but the move gave Kinkladze the opportunity to play first team football instead of playing for Dinamo's second team.

Kinkladze made his professional debut aged 16, and immediately became a first team regular.

In 1991 Kinkladze's Mretebi won the Pirveli Liga, and won promotion to the highest division following a play-off.

After a season in the top flight with Mretebi, Kinkladze was signed by Dinamo Tbilisi, the team he represented as a youth, for one million roubles.

The match, against Azerbaijan, was the Georgian national side's fourth since breaking from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Kinkladze's youth-level teammate Shota Arveladze also played in the match, and Kinkladze provided an assist for a goal by Arveladze.

In Kinkladze's first season at the club, Dinamo won a league and cup double.

In September 1992, shortly after signing for Dinamo, Kinkladze made his senior international debut, aged 19.

However, due to the ongoing Georgian Civil War, during 1993 the Dinamo Tbilisi management sought to put their players in a more stable environment.

As part of this, Kinkladze was sent on loan to 1. FC Saarbrücken in Germany.

At the end of the season, Kinkladze returned to Tbilisi to resume his career in Georgia, where he was named the national Player of the Year for 1993.

Dinamo president Merab Jordania was still uncomfortable with Kinkladze playing in Georgia amid political instability, and offered the player to Atlético Madrid for approximately £200,000; they gave him a trial, but no contract.

He then trained with Real Madrid's reserves, where he caught the eye of Boca Juniors scouts, who took him to Argentina for a month's loan.

Kinkladze met his childhood hero Diego Maradona, but did not gain a permanent contract, as manager Silvio Marzolini regarded him as too similar to Boca's Argentine international playmaker Alberto Márcico.

He first came to international prominence with his performances for the Georgian national team against Wales in 1994 and 1995.

Kinkladze made his Saarbrücken debut in a 2. Bundesliga match against Tennis Borussia Berlin, a 2–2 draw on 4 March 1994.

He was unable to settle into the side at Saarbrücken, rarely playing a full 90 minutes, and was sent off in a 1–3 defeat to Hertha Berlin.

In September 1994, Kinkladze was part of the Georgian team that played Moldova in Tbilisi.

Italian clubs became interested in Kinkladze after seeing footage of his performance, and the Italian press nicknamed Kinkladze the "Rivera of the Black Sea", but no concrete attempts to sign him took place.

It was not until Manchester City chairman Francis Lee saw the recording that negotiations for a permanent move abroad occurred.

Enthused by Kinkladze's display, Lee contacted Jordania, securing an agreement that Manchester City would have first refusal should Dinamo wish to sell the player.

Two months later, Kinkladze scored his first international goal as Georgia defeated Wales 5–0.

Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall later said of the game "They murdered us... [Kinkladze] was different class and the best player on the pitch by a mile."

When the teams met again at Cardiff Arms Park, scouts from several clubs saw Kinkladze score the only goal of the game with a 20-yard (18 m) chip over Southall.

Kinkladze transferred from Dinamo Tbilisi to English Premier League club Manchester City in 1995, where his dribbling ability and spectacular goals made him a cult hero, winning the club's Player of the Year award in two consecutive seasons.

Kinkladze stayed with Manchester City despite relegation to the Football League First Division in 1996, but the club continued to decline, and after a second relegation in 1998 he joined Dutch champions Ajax.

With his national team, he won the Malta International Football Tournament 1998.

Kinkladze was unable to settle in the Netherlands, and returned to England with Derby County a little over a year later.

He spent four years at Derby, making nearly 100 appearances.

After leaving Derby in 2003, he became a journeyman footballer, having unsuccessful trials at several clubs before joining Cypriot club Anorthosis in 2004, where he won a league championship medal.

He finished his playing career with Russian club Rubin Kazan in 2006.