Levan Mchedlidze
Encyclopedia
Levan Mchedlidze is a Georgian
professional football
player who is currently playing with Italian
club 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.
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. Later, Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini
announced to have paid €6.2 mln for the signing of the young Georgian striker,; 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.
Mchedlidze made his Serie A
debut on 24 September 2008, playing fifteen minutes in a league game against Napoli
, 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
.
Also due to his recurrent injuries which prevented him from playing regularly in his first season, Palermo agreed a one-year extension to his loan with Empoli on June 2009. On December 2009, after a lacklustre start of season, Mchedlidze did not return back 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.
at the age of 17, for the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Italy
. 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 other two teenagers teammates (Levan Kenia
and Giorgi Makaridze
in the starting lineup), scored the first goal in the 2–0 victory against Scotland
, thus marking his first goal of his professional career.
|2008-09||rowspan="2"|Palermo
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||9||1||0||0||-||-||9||1
|-
|2009-10
||2||0||0||0||-||-||2||0
|-
11||1||0||0||-||-||11||1
|-
|2010-11||rowspan="2"|Empoli
||rowspan="2"|Serie B
||20||2||1||0||-||-||21||2
|-
|2011-12||7||0||1||0||-||-||8||0
|-
27||2||2||0||-||-||29||2
38||3||3||0||0||0||41||3
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who is currently playing with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
club Empoli
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
.
Career
Originally noted in the spring of 2006 by EmpoliEmpoli
Empoli is a town and comune in Tuscany, Italy, about 20 km southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the latter river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The commune's territory becomes a hilly one as it departs from the river...
scout Gianni Carnevali, he joined the Tuscan
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
side on September 2006, following his impressive performances with the Georgia under-19 national team in a youth competition in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and despite some interest from FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
. He was officially signed only one year later, on July 2007, due to bureaucratic issues concerning his non-EU citizen status.
Following Empoli's relegation into Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, Mchedlidze's future was put under discussion. On 30 August 2008, Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
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. Later, Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini
Maurizio Zamparini
Maurizio Zamparini is an Italian businessman and the current owner and chairman of Serie A club U.S. Città di Palermo....
announced to have paid €6.2 mln for the signing of the young Georgian striker,; 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.
Mchedlidze made his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut on 24 September 2008, playing fifteen minutes in a league game against Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
, 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
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
.
Also due to his recurrent injuries which prevented him from playing regularly in his first season, Palermo agreed a one-year extension to his loan with Empoli on June 2009. On December 2009, after a lacklustre start of season, Mchedlidze did not return back 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
Walter Sabatini
Walter Sabatini is an Italian former association football player turned director of football, currently working for Italian club AS Roma.He is the brother of Carlo Sabatini.-Playing career:...
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.
International
Despite having never played in his team also because of a knee injury during the pre-season training, he was capped for the Georgia national football teamGeorgia national football team
The Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. The team have attempted to qualify for each major...
at the age of 17, for the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. In spite of his young age, the coach Klaus Toppmöller
Klaus Toppmöller
Klaus Toppmöller is a former football player and the coach of Georgia national football team from 2006 to April 1, 2008.He earned 3 caps and scored 1 goal during his international career for Germany.-Coaching career:...
made him play against the World Champions.
In the following match, Mchedlidze, being featured together with other two teenagers teammates (Levan Kenia
Levan Kenia
Levan Kenia is a Georgian footballer who plays for Schalke 04 in the German Bundesliga and the Georgian national team.-Club career:He joined Schalke 04 from Lokomotivi Tbilisi in January 2008, signing a contract with the club that runs until June 2012 Kenia made his debut for Schalke 04 against...
and Giorgi Makaridze
Giorgi Makaridze
Giorgi Makaridze is a Georgian footballer. He plays for Le Mans in France.-Career:He began his career in the youth from Dinamo Tbilisi and moved on 10 January 2009 for 800.000 €uro to Le Mans UC72 who signed a four year contract with a fee from 85.000 €uro.-International:At age of 17, Makaridze...
in the starting lineup), scored the first goal in the 2–0 victory against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, thus marking his first goal of his professional career.
Career statistics
|-|2008-09||rowspan="2"|Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||9||1||0||0||-||-||9||1
|-
|2009-10
2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A was the seventy-eighth season since its establishment. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball - the T90 Ascente - for this season...
||2||0||0||0||-||-||2||0
|-
11||1||0||0||-||-||11||1
|-
|2010-11||rowspan="2"|Empoli
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
||rowspan="2"|Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||20||2||1||0||-||-||21||2
|-
|2011-12||7||0||1||0||-||-||8||0
|-
27||2||2||0||-||-||29||2
38||3||3||0||0||0||41||3