Giorgi Kvilitaia (Order of Honor) (Georgian: გიორგი ქვილითაია, romanized: giorgi kvilitaia, pronounced [ɡioɾɡi kʰʷilitʰaia], born 1 October 1993) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club Aris Limassol and the Georgia national team.

Giorgi Kvilitaia
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Abasha, Georgia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Aris Limassol
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Sasco Tbilisi 16 (22)
2013–2015 Győr 13 (1)
2013–2014Dila Gori (loan) 18 (6)
2015–2016 Dinamo Tbilisi 29 (24)
2016–2018 Rapid Wien 55 (17)
2018–2021 Gent 34 (5)
2020−2021Anorthosis (loan) 31 (14)
2021−2024 APOEL 83 (26)
2024– Aris Limassol 8 (5)
International career
2013–2014 Georgia U21 6 (1)
2016– Georgia 38 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:17, 22 June 2024 (UTC).

Career

edit

Kvilitaia was born in Abasha, Georgia. At age 14 he moved to Tbilisi, first to Norchi Dinamo and later to Division 2 side Sasco, where he was one of the best scorers in 2012–13.[1]

After an unsuccessful spell at Győr, Kvilitaia played one season for Dila Gori on loan. In June 2015 he joined Dinamo Tbilisi.[2] With 24 goals scored in 29 matches this season, Kvilitaia became a top scorer and won the special prize at a GFF award ceremony.[3]

In 2016 Kvilitaia signed for Austrian Bundesliga club Rapid Wien.[4]

After two seasons he signed a four-year deal with Belgian side Gent.[5]

Since 2020 Kvilitaia has been playing in the Cypriot First Division. Initially, on 17 September 2020 he joined Anorthosis[6] on loan from Gent and a year later he moved to APOEL on 3 June 2021.[7] In August 2021, he was selected as a team captain.[8] In May 2024, Kvilitaia became the winner of the league season with this club and shortly joined Aris Limassol on a three-year deal. [9]

Career statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of 27 October 2024[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Győr 2012–13 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 1
2014–15 11 1 1 0 4 9 16 0
Total 13 1 1 0 5 10 19 11
Dila Gori (loan) 2013–14 18 6 3 0 21 6
Dinamo Tbilisi 2015–16 29 24 7 5 2 0 1 0 39 29
2016–17 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1
Total 29 24 7 5 4 1 1 0 41 30
Rapid Wien 2016–17 26 7 4 1 5 1 35 9
2017–18 29 10 3 3 32 13
Total 55 17 7 4 5 1 67 22
Gent 2018–19 11 4 1 0 1 0 13 4
2019–20 23 1 2 2 8 0 33 3
Total 34 5 3 2 9 0 46 7
Anorthosis (loan) 2020–21 31 14 5 0 1 1 37 15
APOEL 2021–22 23 10 3 3 26 13
2022–23 30 8 3 3 33 11
2023–24 30 8 1 0 6 1 37 9
Total 83 26 7 6 6 1 96 33
Aris 2024–25 8 5 8 5
Career total 271 98 33 17 5 10 25 4 1 0 335 129

International

edit
As of matches played on 22 June 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Georgia 2016 4 0
2017 8 3
2018 3 1
2019 8 2
2020 4 0
2021 7 0
2022 1 0
2024 3 0
Total 38 6
Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kvilitaia goal.
List of international goals scored by Giorgi Kvilitaia[11]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 March 2017 Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia   Latvia 2–0 5–0 Friendly
2 3–0
3 24 March 2018 Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia   Lithuania 2–0 4–0 Friendly
4 10 November 2017 Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium, Gori, Georgia   Cyprus 1–0 1–0 Friendly
5 5 September 2019 Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey   South Korea 2–2 2–2 Friendly
6 15 October 2019 Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar   Gibraltar 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

edit

Dinamo Tbilisi

Anorthosis

APOEL

Individual

References

edit
  1. ^ "გიორგი ქვილითაიას გზა აბაშიდან" (in Georgian). 25 December 2013.
  2. ^ "ქვილითაიაც დინამოშია" (in Georgian). 5 June 2015.
  3. ^ "GFF AWARDS 2016: საქართველოში საუკეთესოები აღიარეს" (in Georgian). 29 December 2016.
  4. ^ Transfer perfekt: Giorgi Kvilitaia ist Rapidler (Perfect Transfer: Rapid Sign Giorgi Kvilitaia) (in German)
  5. ^ "ოფიციალურად: გიორგი ქვილითაია "გენტის" ფეხბურთელია". 18 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Με το Φοίνικα στο στήθος ο Γκιόργκι Κβιλιτάια (δηλώσεις)". 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Με τη γαλαζοκίτρινη ασπίδα στο στήθος, ο Giorgi Kvilitaia" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 3 June 2021.
  8. ^ "ქვილითაია "აპოელის" კაპიტანი გახდა - ვგრძნობ, ამ ამოცანის შესასრულებლად მზად ვარ" (in Georgian). 21 August 2021.
  9. ^ ""ΠΡΑΣΙΝΟΣ" Ο ΚΒΙΛΙΤΑΪΑ". arisfc.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  10. ^ Giorgi Kvilitaia at Soccerway
  11. ^ "Kvilitaia, Giorgi". National Football Teams. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
edit