Levan Mchedlidze

Levan Mchedlidze
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-03-24) 24 March 1990
Place of birth Tbilisi, Georgia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker, Winger
Club information
Current team
 Empoli
Number 9
Youth career
2005–2006 Dila Gori
2006–2007 Empoli
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Dila Gori 2 (0)
2007– Empoli 129 (11)
2008–2010 → Palermo (loan) 11 (1)
National team‡
2005–2006 Georgia U-17 8 (3)
2006–2007 Georgia U-19 8 (1)
2011 Georgia U-21 3 (0)
2007– Georgia 27 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 May 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 May 2016

Levan Mchedlidze (Georgian: ლევან მჭედლიძე, [lɛvan mt͡ʃʼɛdlid͡zɛ]; born 24 March 1990) is a Georgian professional football player who is currently playing with Empoli.

Career

Empoli

Originally noted in early 2006 by Empoli scout Gianni Carnevali, he joined the Tuscan side on September 2006, following his impressive performances with the Georgia under-19 national team in a youth competition in Belgium, and despite some interest from FC Bayern Munich. He was officially signed only one year later, on July 2007, due to bureaucratic issues concerning his non-EU citizen status.[1]

Loan to Palermo

Following Empoli's relegation into Serie B, Mchedlidze's future was put under discussion. On 30 August 2008, Serie A club Palermo announced on their website to have signed Mchedlidze on a year-long loan, with the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.[2] Later, Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini announced to have paid €6.2 mln for the signing of the young Georgian striker.[3] The club also confirmed the bid to be an actual permanent move, as a technical year-long loan that will be made permanent at the end of the 2008–09 season.[4]

Mchedlidze made his Serie A debut on 24 September 2008, playing fifteen minutes in a league game against Napoli,[5] then scoring his first professional goal only a few weeks later, in what ultimately proved to be the winning goal in a surprising 2–1 away win against Juventus. Despite the high hopes for the young striker, he went on to make just another seven appearances that season and didn't add to his goal tally.

Palermo agreed a one-year extension to his loan with Empoli in June 2009. On December 2009, after a lacklustre start of season, Mchedlidze did not return to Sicily from holidays in Georgia, citing lack of first team chances as the main reason behind his choice. The player was successively excluded from the first team and Palermo director of football Walter Sabatini successively confirmed the club will not arrange a deal for him. As of March 2010, the player has not returned to Sicily and his loan to Palermo was subsequently cancelled due to breach of contract.[6]

Return to Empoli

In the 2010–11 Serie B season, Levan made 21 appearances as his side finished mid-table, scoring 2 goals and managing 4 assists. Mchedlidze played a bit-part role for the majority of the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, with most of his appearances coming off the bench. In the 2014–15 Serie A season, Levan scored 4 goals in the league, including a brace against Internazionale Milano on the final matchday.

International

Despite having never played in his team also because of a knee injury during pre-season training, he was capped for the Georgia national football team at the age of 17, for the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Italy.[7] In spite of his young age, the coach Klaus Toppmöller made him play against the World Champions.

In the following match, Mchedlidze, being featured together with two other teenage team-mates (Levan Kenia and Giorgi Makaridze in the starting lineup),[8] scored the first goal in the 2–0 victory against Scotland, thus marking the first goal of his professional career.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Levan Mchedlidze: alcune notizie" (in Italian). Empoli FC. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  2. ↑ "Levan Mchedlidze al Palermo" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "DICHIARAZIONE DI ZAMPARINI" (in Italian). U.S. Città di Palermo. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  4. ↑ "Sabatini: "Vi presento Succi e Levan"" (in Italian). Mediagol. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  5. ↑ "NAPOLI-PALERMO: esordio per Mchedlidze" (in Italian). Mediagol. 24 September 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  6. ↑ "Levan ha rescisso, l'Empoli lo chiama...lui non risponde" (in Italian). Palermo24. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Levan il debutto del predestinato" (in Italian).
  8. ↑ "Future bright for Toppmöller's Georgia".
  9. ↑ "Youthful Georgia hurt Scotland hopes".


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