Shota Arveladze

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Personal information
Shota Arveladze

Full name	Shota Arveladze
Date of birth	February 22, 1973 (1973-02-22) (age 35)
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Georgia, then Soviet Union
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Retired
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1990-91 1990-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1994-97 1997-01 2001-05 2005-2007 2007-2008	Martve Tbilisi Iberia Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi Trabzonspor FC Dinamo Tbilisi Trabzonspor Ajax Amsterdam Rangers F.C. AZ Levante UD	30 (33) 37 (25) 23 (18) 18 (15) 15 (19) 78 (46) 96 (55) 95 (44) 60 (36) 3 (0)
National team²
1997-2007	Georgia	53 (22)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 6, 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of August 17, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Shota Arveladze (born February 22, 1973 in Tbilisi) is a former Georgian professional football player.

[edit] Career

Before coming to Rangers, he played at Dinamo Tbilisi, Trabzonspor, and Ajax Amsterdam, and finished at least one season as the top goal scorer at all three. He also scored the 3000th goal in the SPL. When he led Trabzonspor in goals in 1995-96, he also led the Turkish Premier Super League, making him the second non-Turk to date to lead that league in goals after Tarik Hodžić 1983-84. He is recorded as "most loved foreign player" for Trabzonspor supporters.

Arveladze joined Rangers from Ajax for £2 million in 2001 but departed for Dutch side, AZ on a free transfer in 2004-05. He was also a regular in the Georgian national team, and was the nation's all-time leading scorer. He is now retired from international football.^[1] His twin brother Archil also plays international football for Georgia. He retired from football on May 22, 2008 and may join AZ's coaching staff.