Georgi Kiknadze ( ka, გიორგი კიკნაძე; born 26 April 1976) is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. He played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the mo ...

FC Torpedo Kutaisi FC Torpedo Kutaisi is a Georgian professional football club based in Kutaisi, Georgia's third largest city. 'Torpedo Kutaisi' was founded in 1946 and in just three years the club became the winner of the Football Championship of that time. Torped ...

Samsunspor Samsunspor is a Turkish professional Association football, football club located in the city of Samsun. The club was formed through a merger of five clubs: 19 Mayıs, Akınspor, Fener Gençlik, Samsunspor, and Samsunspor Galatasaray.

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

, Lokomotivi Tbilisi, Spartaki Tbilisi and the Georgian national team. As part of the Dinamo Tbilisi team he won the

Umaglesi Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football F ...

five times running from 1994 to 1998, and the

Georgian Cup The Georgian Cup (, ''Sakartvelos tasi'') is the main cup competition in Georgia (country), Georgian football (soccer), football. The competition is a knockout (single elimination) tournament. Soviet era cup winners Previous winners are: * 194 ...

four years running from 1994 to 1997. He was also a runner-up in the Georgian Cup in 1998.

Career

Kiknadze joined Turkish club

in October 1999, but stayed only one season, making just four appearances before moving to

in Germany. He failed to make the first team in his two seasons in Germany, and in 2003 he was released by Freiburg. He then returned to Georgia, where he played for Lokomotivi Tbilisi and later Spartaki Tbilisi. He made his international debut on 5 December 1996 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Kiknadze captained the side in a 4–2 defeat, scoring Georgia's second goal. He obtained the last of his ten international caps on 28 April 1999, coming on as a substitute in a 4–1 loss against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Kiknadze started the 2006–07 season as coach of Olimpi Rustavi, entering coaching at the relatively young age of 30. This was Olimpi Rustavi's first season of existence; the club formed in 2006 following a merger between

FC Tbilisi FC Tbilisi was a Georgian football team based in the capital Tbilisi. The club played their home games at Olimpi Stadium. FC Tbilisi were renamed Olimpi Rustavi after merging with second division club Rustavi. In the summer of 2008, the two c ...

and FC Rustavi. At the start of the season Kiknadze led the club to a run of eight matches without conceding a single goal. However, midway through the season, with Olimpi leading the league, Kiknadze left the club after failing to agree terms on a new contract. Olimpi continued the good form they had enjoyed under Kiknadze, and won the league title. Kiknadze subsequently became coach at

Torpedo Kutaisi FC Torpedo Kutaisi is a Georgian professional football club based in Kutaisi, Georgia's third largest city. 'Torpedo Kutaisi' was founded in 1946 and in just three years the club became the winner of the Football Championship of that time. Torp ...

, but just stayed in the job just one month. He became the coach of Lokomotivi Tbilisi on 7 April 2007.The European Football Yearbook 2007/08, p504 Kiknadze's nephew

Levan Kenia Levan Kenia ( ka, ლევან ყენია; born 18 October 1990) is a Georgia (country), Georgian professional association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for German club KFC Uerdingen 05, KFC Uerdingen. Club ca ...

is also a professional footballer, playing for Czech club

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiknadze, Georgi 1976 births Living people Footballers from Tbilisi Association football midfielders Footballers from Georgia (country) Georgia (country) international footballers Süper Lig players Samsunspor footballers SC Freiburg players FC Dinamo Tbilisi players Expatriate footballers from Georgia (country) Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey