Shota Arveladze is a famous Georgian football player. Now he works as the head coach of the Israeli Maccabi club from Tel Aviv. First of all, he became famous as the top scorer in the history of the modern national team of Georgia.
Club career
Shota Arveladze was born in Tbilisi in 1973. He began his professional career in the capital's Martwe team when he was 17 years old. He demonstrated brilliant striking qualities in this club, played 30 matches during the season, in which he scored 33 goals.
This performance did not go unnoticed in the main team of Georgia. And in the next season, Arveladze became the striker of Dynamo Tbilisi. The young forward failed to gain a foothold in the country's main team on the move, but in the end he won a place at the base. In “Dynamo” Shota Arveladze played until 1995. In total, he spent 75 matches, scoring 62 goals, winning each season with the Georgian Championship club.
During this time, in 1993, Arveladze was released for one season in the Turkish “Trabzonspor”, where he finally moved, having finished playing for Dynamo at the age of 22.
Turkish voyage
Shot Arveladze was remembered by his bright and productive game in “Trabzonspor” when he came here to play rent for one season. In the 1993-94 season, he appeared on the field 18 times, sending 15 goals to the opponents. Effective forward allowed “Trabzonspor” to take third place.
In the 1995/96 season, Arveladze, already in the status of the team’s main scorer, fought for the championship against Istanbul Fenerbahce for the whole season. The Georgian striker was the top scorer with 25 goals that season, but his team lost 2 points to the competitor at the finish line and remained second.
The following year, the struggle for leadership in the Turkish Championship was even more stubborn. The champion was “Galatasaray”, led by the irrepressible Hakan Shukyur, who scored 38 goals over the season. “Trarzonspor" took only 4th place.
Arveladze at the end of the season received a tempting offer from Amsterdam “Ajax”.
In european football
In “Ajax” Shota Arveladze immediately declared himself. The biography of a football player has become well known throughout the football world. In the first season, he became the team's top scorer, scoring 25 goals. In the Dutch Championship, Georgians lost only to the Greek Nikos Mahlas from Vitesse, who scored 34 times.
But “Vitesse” in the final table is in third place, and “Ajax” became the champion, ahead of the closest pursuer of PSV by 17 points and scoring 112 goals.
Once again, Arveladze managed to get into the list of the top scorers of the Dutch championship only in 2001. With 18 goals, he became the fourth. By the way, things went worse with Ajax in those years, he no longer became the winner of the championship, but twice won the country’s cup.
In 2001, Arveladze went to the Scottish Championship to play for the legendary Glasgow Rangers. In the first season for the new club, the Georgians did not help him become a champion in the eternal confrontation with “Celtic”. The latter was unstoppable that year, gaining 103 points. Glasgow remained second, 18 points behind. Arveladze with 11 goals became the second scorer of the team.
But in the 2002/03 season, the three scorers - Arveladze, Ferguson, Ronald de Boer - scored 47 goals for three, bringing victory in the Championship to their club. A year later, the Georgian striker became the two-time champion of Scotland. The fight was stubborn until the last round, “Celtic” behind only 1 point. In total for the Scottish club, he spent 95 matches, in which he scored 44 goals.
In 2005, Arveladze returned to the Dutch Championship, but in a modest “AZ” from Alkmaar. For two seasons he won silver and bronze with this club.
Shota ended his career in the Spanish Levant at 35 years old. But the veteran failed to show himself in this Championship. He appeared on the field only 4 times.
Record holder in the national team
Georgian team record holder for the number of goals scored by Shota Arveladze. The interview that the footballer gave to local publications confirms his gratitude for the Federation’s decision to permanently assign him the 11th number.
Arveladze played for the national team from 1992 to 2007, his entire career. During this time, he managed to excel 26 times. His closest pursuer, Temuri Ketsbaia, scored 9 goals less and more than 10 years after he ended his career. Of the players playing so far, no one has even come close to the mark of 10 goals scored.
On the coaching bridge
Since 2010, Shota Arveladze - coach of Turkish clubs. He began work at Kayserispor, then worked for the Kasympasha and Trabzonspor teams.
In 2016, he headed one of the best teams in the Israeli Championship - Maccabi from Tel Aviv. At the moment, the Israeli Championship is only nearing the middle, the Arveladze club is among the leaders.
In European competitions, the club plays in the UEFA Cup. The fight began with the first qualifying round. First, the Israeli club passed the Slovenian “Goritsa” - 3-0 at home and 1-0 at a party. Then, it was not without difficulty that he coped with the Kazakhstani Kairat. In Alma-Ata, the teams played in a draw, and Maccabi won in the second leg - 2: 1.
Then the Romanian “Pandurius” was defeated - 3: 1 and 2: 1. In the decisive round of qualification, the Croatian “Hajduk” opposed the Israelis. Having won the first match 2: 1 at home, in return the team Arveladze lost with the same score. The fate of a ticket to the main round of the UEFA Cup was decided by a penalty shootout. Was more successful “Maccabi” - 4: 3.