Zurab Khizanishvili
 Khizanishvili playing for Kayserispor | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zurab Khizanishvili[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia SSR, USSR | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–1999 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 2 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Norchi Tbilisi | 9 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Lokomotiv Tbilisi | 16 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | Dundee | 43 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Rangers | 42 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| 2006–2011 | Blackburn Rovers | 36 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Reading (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | → Reading (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Kayserispor | 71 | (1) |
| 2014 | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 1996–1997 | Georgia U-17 | 9 | (1) |
| 1998 | Georgia U-19 | 8 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Georgia U-21 | 3 | (1) |
| 1999– | Georgia | 93 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 January 2014. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Zurab Khizanishvili (Georgian: ზურაბ ხიზანიშვილი; born 6 October 1981) is a Georgian footballer who plays for Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi as a defender.
Early career
Khizanishvili started his career at Dinamo Tbilisi where he remained for just one season, before joining FC Tbilisi to improve his chances of playing regular first team football.
In 1999 he was on the move again, joining his previous two clubs' city rivals Lokomotiv Tbilisi. Khizanishvili's form at Lokomotiv piqued the interest of some of Europe's top clubs, though the player's latter days at the club were marred by injury. Khizanishvili was eventually released after his contract with Lokomotiv was terminated.
Career in Scotland
In March 2001, Khizanishvili joined Dundee, having had unsuccessful trials at Arsenal, Fulham and West Ham United.[2][3]
He quickly made an impact at Dens Park, alerting fellow Scottish Premier League team Rangers, whom Khizanishvili joined on a Bosman transfer in June 2003 as a replacement for wantaway Blackburn Rovers-bound defender Lorenzo Amoruso.
Despite making 35 appearances in his first campaign at Ibrox, Khizanishvili gradually fell out of favour and, on 31 August 2005, he was allowed to move on loan for the rest of the season to Blackburn in the English FA Premier League. During his loan spell at Blackburn he scored once in the league, in a 2–0 home win over Manchester City,[4] and once in the League Cup in a 3–1 win over Huddersfield Town.[5]
Career in England
On 10 April 2006, he signed a permanent deal with Blackburn Rovers in a deal rumoured to be worth around about £500,000. Since joining the Ewood Park outfit, Khizanishvili has struggled to hold down a regular starting position, instead usually playing when injuries and/or suspensions have ruled other defenders out of games. His first appearance of the 2009–10 campaign for Rovers came on 25 August, when he started the League Cup 2nd Round tie against Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Gael Givet in a 3–1 win.
Under Paul Ince and Sam Allardyce he failed to break into the first team on a consistent basis, and on 17 September 2009 Khizanishvili joined Championship team Newcastle United on loan in a three-month deal. He returned to Blackburn on 19 December after an unsuccessful loan deal expired at St. James' Park.[6] On 25 January 2010, he signed for Reading on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. On 31 August 2010, he rejoined Reading on a season long loan for the 2010–11 season and was handed the number 15 shirt at the Madejski Stadium. On 13 March 2011, Khizanishvili completed the full 90 minutes against Manchester City at Eastlands in a 1–0 FA Cup quarter-final loss. On 30 May 2011, he started the Championship play-off final against Swansea City and gave away a silly penalty on 20 minutes with a clumsy challenge on winger Nathan Dyer, in which Scott Sinclair dispatched confidently from 12 yards out. He then went on to record two more assists, for the opposition. Khizanishvili ended his second loan spell with Reading, making 29 appearances in all competitions, including 24 league outings. Also in the match between Reading and Swansea, he was booked on exactly 12 minutes and played the full 90 minutes alongside captain Matthew Mills in a 4–2 defeat and was rated as flop of the match at Wembley Stadium. He ended a good spell at Reading in a bad way.[7]
Career in Turkey
After his release from Blackburn, he joined Kayserispor.[8]
Career statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Scotland | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2000–01 | Dundee | Premier League | 6 | 0 | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | 18 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | - | 20 | 0 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Rangers | Premier League | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2005–06 | Blackburn Rovers | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 32 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Newcastle United | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | Reading | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 27* | 0* | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Kayserispor | Süper Lig | 29 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
| 2012–13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | Scotland | 85 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 114 | 0 | |
| England | 115 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 141 | 2 | ||
| Turkey | 32 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 232 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 293 | 3 | ||
* includes Championship Play-Off
International career
Khizanishvili is a regular footballer and captain of the Georgia squad. He scored his only goal against Moldova on 6 June 2009.[10]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009-06-06 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia |  Moldova | 1 – 2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Club
- Rangers
Individual
Personal life
Khizanishvili is married to the Georgian model Salome Ghviniashvili and they have three children. He is the son of former USSR international defender Nodar Khizanishvili.
References
- ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/01/2010 and 31/01/2010" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
- ↑ "Wenger eyes Georgian wonder-kid". BBC News (London: BBC). 17 October 2000. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ↑ "Caballero set for return". BBC News (London: BBC). 26 February 2001. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ↑ "Blackburn 2–0 Man City". BBC Sport. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ↑ "Blackburn 3–1 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 21 September 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ↑ Ryder, Lee (12 December 2009). "Zurab Khizanishvili set to return to Blackburn Rovers". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ↑ "Khizanishvili leaves Blackburn Rovers for Reading". Lancashire Telegraph. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ↑ "Royals step up defender search". Reading Chronicle (Berkshire Media Group). 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ↑ Zurab Khizanishvili | Blackburn Rovers | Team | 1st Team Profiles
- ↑ "Match Report". GFF. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
External links
- Zurab Khizanishvili profile at the Blackburn Rovers website
- Zurab Khizanishvili career statistics at Soccerbase
- Zurab Khizanishvili at National-Football-Teams.com
- Zurab Khizanishvili – FIFA competition record
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