Zuriko "Zuka" Davitashvili (Georgian: ზურიკო დავითაშვილი, romanized: zurik'o davitashvili; born 15 February 2001) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Ligue 2 club Bordeaux and the Georgia national team. He also plays as an attacking midfielder.
 Davitashvili with Arsenal Tula in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 February 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger, attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bordeaux | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2017 | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 6 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Locomotive Tbilisi | 29 | (3) |
| 2019–2021 | Rubin Kazan | 28 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | → Rotor Volgograd (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Arsenal Tula | 20 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Dinamo Batumi | 14 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | → Bordeaux (loan) | 30 | (5) |
| 2023– | Bordeaux | 37 | (8) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2018 | Georgia U17 | 12 | (7) |
| 2017–2018 | Georgia U19 | 9 | (4) |
| 2019–2023 | Georgia U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019– | Georgia | 34 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:55, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:17, 14 April 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editDavitashvili made his career debut for Dinamo Tbilisi on 29 September 2017 in a match against Kolkheti Poti. He came on the pitch in the 72nd minute.[1]
In 2018, he moved to Locomotive Tbilisi.[2] In the same year The Guardian named Davitashvili among 60 best young players worldwide.[3]
As a distinguished player of the Georgian U17 team, he received a golden medal from the Football Federation.[4] Тhis acknowledgement resulted from his highly prolific performance in two qualifying rounds of 2018 European U17 championship. Being captain of the team, he scored seven goals in six matches, including a poker against N.Macedonia.[5]
A year later he was named as the best young Georgian football player of the season.[6]
Russia
editOn 29 June 2019, Davitashvili signed a three-year contract with Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan.[7] He made his Russian Premier League debut for Rubin on 15 July 2019 in the season opener against Lokomotiv Moscow, as a starter.[8]
UEFA included Zuriko Davitashvili in the list of fifty young talents in early 2020.[9]
On 20 August 2020, Davitashvili joined Rotor Volgograd on loan for the 2020–21 season.[10] On 16 July 2021, his contract with Rubin was terminated by mutual consent.[11] Four days later, he signed for Arsenal Tula.[12]
Return to Georgia
editOn 23 March 2022, Davitashvili signed with Dinamo Batumi. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA gave foreign players playing in Russia the permission to terminate their contract immediately.[13]
Bordeaux
editOn 2 September 2022, Davitashvili moved to Bordeaux on a one-year loan deal.[14] His goal in a debut game helped his new club to secure victory over Dijon on 17 September.[15] Following the 2022–23 season, the club exercised the option to purchase him on a four-year deal.[16]
International career
editBefore 2016, Davitashvili played for the Georgia under-17s. After 2017, he played for the Georgia under-19s.[17] He made his debut for Georgia national team on 5 September 2019 in a friendly against South Korea, as a starter.[18] Three days later in a friendly game against Bulgaria he netted his first goal.[19]
Davitashvili took part in 2023 European U21 Championship, co-hosted by Georgia. His stunning solo goal scored against Netherlands in a 1-1 draw proved crucial for winning the group stage. For his display Davitashvilil received the Player of the Match award.[20]
Personal life
editZuriko Davitashvili is the son of former football player Suliko Davitashvili, who later became a football coach working with youth teams and at professional clubs such as Rustavi.[21]
Zuriko has a sister and younger brother.
He got married in 2023.[22] The birth of his son was announced in November 2023.[23]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 17 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2017 | Erovnuli Liga | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Locomotive Tbilisi | 2018 | Erovnuli Liga | 19 | 3 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | |||
| Rubin Kazan | 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| Rotor Volgograd (loan) | 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 20 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| Arsenal Tula | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 20 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 23 | 4 | |
| Dinamo Batumi | 2022 | Erovnuli Liga | 14 | 6 | — | 4[a] | 1 | 18 | 7 | |
| Bordeaux | 2022–23 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 32 | 6 | |
| 2023–24 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 8 | |||
| Total | 67 | 13 | 4 | 1 | — | 71 | 14 | |||
| Career total | 184 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 195 | 30 | ||
- ^ Two appearances and one goal in the UEFA Champions League, two appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
International
edit- Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Davitashvili goal.[24]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 September 2021 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria |  Bulgaria | 1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 2. | 12 October 2021 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo |  Kosovo | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 5 June 2022 | Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad, Bulgaria | Bulgaria | 1–0 | 5–2 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
| 4. | 17 June 2023 | AEK Arena, Larnaca, Cyprus |  Cyprus | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 5. | 12 October 2023 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia |  Thailand | 1–0 | 8–0 | Friendly |
| 6. | 6–0 |
Honours
editGeorgia U17
- Kazakhstan President Cup runner-up: 2017[25]
Individual
- Kazakhstan President Cup top scorer: 2017[26]
- U19 Player of the Year in Georgia: 2018[27]
- Best Georgian young player: 2019[28]
References
edit- ^ "Kolkheti vs Dinamo Tbilisi". soccerway.com.
- ^ "დადასტურდა: ზურიკო დავითაშვილის ახალი გუნდი ცნობილია" (in Georgian). fanebi.com. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Next Generation 2018: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. 11 October 2018.
- ^ "სფფ-მ საუკეთესოები დააჯილდოვა - წლის საუკეთესო ფეხბურთელად გიორგი ჩაკვეტაძე დაასახელეს" (in Georgian). sportall.ge. 28 December 2018.
- ^ "დავითაშვილის პოკერი, საქართველო ევროპაზე გასვლის თეორიულ შანსს ინარჩუნებს". europop.ge (in Georgian). 27 March 2018.
- ^ "GFF awards 2019". mygoals.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "ЗУРИКО ДАВИТАШВИЛИ – ИГРОК "РУБИНА"" [Zuriko Davitashvili is a Rubin player] (in Russian). FC Rubin Kazan. 29 June 2019.
- ^ "Game Report by RFPL". Russian Premier League. 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Fifty for the future: UEFA.com's ones to watch". UEFA. 14 February 2020.
- ^ "Зурико в "Роторе"" (in Russian). FC Rotor Volgograd. 20 August 2020.
- ^ "ЗУРИКО ДАВИТАШВИЛИ ПОКИДАЕТ "РУБИН"" (in Russian). FC Rubin Kazan. 16 July 2021.
- ^ "ЗУРИКО, ДОБРО ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ В "АРСЕНАЛ"!" (in Russian). FC Arsenal Tula. 20 July 2021.
- ^ "ხვიჩა კვარაცხელია და ზურიკო დავითაშვილი "დინამო ბათუმში" ითამაშებენ" (in Georgian). worldsport.ge. 23 March 2022.
- ^ "ზურიკო ბორდოში ოფიციალურად გადავიდა - დავითაშვილი" (in Georgian). crystalsport.ge. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "დებიუტი გოლით - ზურიკო დავითაშვილმა ბორდოს დიჟონთან მოაგებინა" (in Georgian). europop.ge. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Zuriko, bordelais jusqu'en 2027!". girondins.com (in French). FC Girondis. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Zuriko Davitashvili statistics". soccerway.com.
- ^ "South Korea v Georgia game report". ESPN. 5 September 2019.
- ^ "ბულგარეთი-საქართველო 4:1". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Georgia and Portugal march on, Spain win group". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "„რუსთავი" სულიკო დავითაშვილმა ჩაიბარა". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 8 July 2020.
- ^ ""ხელი მოულოდნელად მოაწერეს... გააზრებული აქვს, რამდენად რთულია ფეხბურთელის ცოლობა" - ზურიკო დავითაშილის დედა, შვილის პირად ცხოვრებაზე, კარიერასა და ხვიჩა კვარაცხელიასთან მეგობრობაზე". kvirispalitra.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ "პირველი ფოტო სამშობიაროდან: „დაიბადა დათი დავითაშვილი!"- ზურიკო დავითაშვილი და მია გზირიშვილი მშობლები გახდნენ". marao.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Z. Davitashvili". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "President Cup 2017". atozwiki.com (in Russian).
- ^ "ОПРЕДЕЛЕНЫ ЛУЧШИЕ ИГРОКИ КУБКА ПРЕЗИДЕНТА РК". kff.kz (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
- ^ "GFF AWARDS 2018 - გამარჯვებულები". tabula.ge (in Georgian). 30 December 2018.
- ^ "სფფ-მ წლის საუკეთესო ფეხბურთელები დაასახელა" (in Georgian). fanebi.com. 28 December 2019.
External links
edit
- Zuriko Davitashvili at Russian Premier League
- profile
- Zuriko Davitashvili – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Zuriko Davitashvili at Soccerway
- Zuriko Davitashvili at National-Football-Teams.com