Georgi Kinkladze (, ; born 6 July 1973), also spelled Georgiou, or Giorgi, or shortened to Gio, is a Georgian former footballer who played as a playmaking midfielder.
Born in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, his first professional club was Mretebi Tbilisi. In Georgia he won three league titles and two cups with Dinamo Tbilisi, and was named national player of the year twice. He first came to international prominence with his performances for the Georgian national team against Wales in 1994 and 1995.
Kinkladze transferred from Dinamo Tbilisi to English Premier League club Manchester City in 1995, where his dribbling ability and spectacular goals made him a cult hero, winning the club's Player of the Year award in two consecutive seasons. Kinkladze stayed with Manchester City despite relegation to the Football League First Division in 1996, but the club continued to decline, and after a second relegation in 1998 he joined Dutch champions Ajax. With his national team, he won the Malta International Football Tournament 1998.
Kinkladze was unable to settle in the Netherlands, and returned to England with Derby County a little over a year later. He spent four years at Derby, making nearly 100 appearances. After leaving Derby in 2003, he had unsuccessful trials at several clubs before joining Cypriot club Anorthosis in 2004, where he won a league championship medal. He finished his playing career with Russian club Rubin Kazan in 2006.
Early life Georgi Kinkladze was born on 6 July 1973 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was then part of the Soviet Union. As a child, he lived in the Didube district of the city with his father, Robinzon (an engineer), his mother Khatuna (a teacher) and his elder sister. Robinzon was keen to see his son succeed as a footballer, sometimes making him walk around the family home on his knees to strengthen his legs, and enrolled him for Dinamo Tbilisi's junior side when he was six years old. Khatuna disapproved of some of her husband's methods, instead taking Georgi to lessons in mtiuluri, a traditional Georgian ballet. Over the next few years, Kinkladze played in Dinamo Tbilisi's youth teams, progressing as far as the reserve team, where he played alongside Shota Arveladze, who would later become his teammate at both senior and international level.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 30.
Playing career
Early career When Georgian football formed leagues independent of Soviet competition in 1989, a family friend arranged for Kinkladze to move to Mretebi Tbilisi, the first openly professional club in the Soviet Union. Mretebi Tbilisi were a smaller club playing at a lower level, but the move gave Kinkladze the opportunity to play first team football instead of playing for Dinamo's second team. Kinkladze made his professional debut aged 16, and immediately became a first team regular. In 1991 Kinkladze's Mretebi won the Pirveli Liga, and won promotion to the highest division following a play-off.
After a season in the top flight with Mretebi, Kinkladze was signed by Dinamo Tbilisi, the team he represented as a youth, for one million roubles.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 31. In September 1992, shortly after signing for Dinamo, Kinkladze made his senior international debut, aged 19. The match, against Azerbaijan, was the Georgian national side's fourth since breaking from the Soviet Union in 1991. Kinkladze's youth-level teammate Shota Arveladze also played in the match, and Kinkladze provided an assist for a goal by Arveladze.
In Kinkladze's first season at the club, Dinamo won a league and cup double. However, due to the ongoing Georgian Civil War, during 1993 the Dinamo Tbilisi management sought to put their players in a more stable environment. As part of this, Kinkladze was sent on loan to 1. FC Saarbrücken in Germany.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 32. Kinkladze made his Saarbrücken debut in a 2. Bundesliga match against Tennis Borussia Berlin, a 2–2 draw on 4 March 1994. He was unable to settle into the side at Saarbrücken, rarely playing a full 90 minutes, and was sent off in a 1–3 defeat to Hertha Berlin. At the end of the season, Kinkladze returned to Tbilisi to resume his career in Georgia, where he was named the national Player of the Year for 1993.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 34. Dinamo president Merab Jordania was still uncomfortable with Kinkladze playing in Georgia amid political instability, and offered the player to Atlético Madrid for approximately £200,000; they gave him a trial, but no contract. He then trained with Real Madrid's reserves, where he caught the eye of Boca Juniors scouts, who took him to Argentina for a month's loan. Kinkladze met his childhood hero Diego Maradona, but did not gain a permanent contract, as manager Silvio Marzolini regarded him as too similar to Boca's Argentine international playmaker Alberto Márcico.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 32–33.
In September 1994, Kinkladze was part of the Georgian team that played Moldova in Tbilisi. Italian clubs became interested in Kinkladze after seeing footage of his performance, and the Italian press nicknamed Kinkladze the "Rivera of the Black Sea", but no concrete attempts to sign him took place. It was not until Manchester City chairman Francis Lee saw the recording that negotiations for a permanent move abroad occurred. Enthused by Kinkladze's display, Lee contacted Jordania, securing an agreement that Manchester City would have first refusal should Dinamo wish to sell the player.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 35–36.
Two months later, Kinkladze scored his first international goal as Georgia defeated Wales 5–0. Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall later said of the game "They murdered us... [Kinkladze] was different class and the best player on the pitch by a mile." When the teams met again at Cardiff Arms Park, scouts from several clubs saw Kinkladze score the only goal of the game with a 20-yard (18 m) chip over Southall. In his last season with Dinamo, the team once again won the double. Kinkladze had scored 14 goals in 21 appearances, and clubs from several countries expressed interest in signing him. Jordania kept true to his agreement with Lee, and on 15 July 1995, Kinkladze signed for Manchester City. The fee was generally reported as £2 million. After initial difficulties obtaining a work permit, Kinkladze made his debut for Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur in a 1–1 draw on 19 August 1995.
Manchester City Manchester City's form was poor during the 1995–96 season. The team failed to win a single league game in the first three months of the season, but Kinkladze quickly became a popular figure. Kinkladze's first goal for the club occurred in a 1–0 win against Aston Villa, following a one-two with Niall Quinn. Kinkladze was initially homesick, as he was living in a hotel and spoke little English.Blue Moon Rising, p. 97. In an effort to resolve his homesickness, his mother moved to Manchester to provide him with familiar food. By the time Manchester City travelled to Middlesbrough on 9 December 1995, press and supporters regarded Kinkladze as the star player of the Manchester City side.Blue Moon Rising, p. 101. "With Rosler badly out-of-sorts, it was Kinkladze who quickly became a terrace hero, an icon for fans who needed something to grasp on to." The match against Middlesbrough was billed as a contest between Kinkladze and the Brazilian playmaker Juninho. Kinkladze scored the opening goal with a solo effort, but the match ended 4–1 to Middlesbrough. However, the Middlesbrough fans subsequently voted Kinkladze the "Best Opposing Player of the Season".Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, pp. 59–60. On 16 March 1996, Kinkladze scored a particularly spectacular goal in a 2–1 win against Southampton. Kinkladze beat five players before chipping the ball over Southampton goalkeeper Dave Beasant. The goal won BBC programme Match of the Day's "Goal of the Month", and placed second in the programme's "Goal of the Season" competition.
On the final day of the season, Manchester City were relegated to the First Division, prompting transfer speculation linking Kinkladze to a number of clubs including Barcelona, Internazionale, Liverpool, and Celtic. However, he opted to stay at Manchester City, where he had been named Player of the Year for 1995–96. The 1996–97 season proved a turbulent one for Manchester City, and over the course of the season, Kinkladze played for five different managers. With Keith Curle no longer at the club, Kinkladze became the main penalty taker, and also scored a number of goals from free-kicks, including a 35-yard (32 m) effort against Swindon Town described by English newspaper Manchester Evening News as "like a missile". In the First Division, Kinkladze frequently had two or even three opposing players assigned to man mark him. Several teams chose to combat Kinkladze's playmaking skill with robust tackles; in one such match on 11 January 1997, against Crystal Palace, Kinkladze had to be stretchered off following a challenge by David Hopkin.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 96. Manchester City finished the season well below the promotion places, and again, there was speculation that Kinkladze would leave the club. At the final match of the season on 3 May 1997, a 3–2 win against Reading, Manchester City supporters campaigned to keep Kinkladze at the club, even though he was not playing in the match, due to injury.Blue Moon Rising, p. 143. The campaign even extended to the half-time advertisements on the scoreboard, the "adverts" being messages from supporter groups who had paid to display them. Kinkladze was named Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, and one month after the season ended, he announced his intention to stay at the club by signing a new three-year contract. Kinkladze used the proceeds from his new contract to buy a Ferrari, though the car caused consternation among club officials. Their fears were realised on 29 October 1997, when Kinkladze lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a motorway bridge in Hale. Kinkladze received back injuries requiring 30 stitches, and missed two matches as a result.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10?, p. 113.