Nika Kvekveskiri

Nikoloz "Nika" Kvekveskiri (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ "ნიკა" კვეკვესკირი, romanized: nik'oloz "nik'a" k'vek'vesk'iri, pronounced [nikʼoloz nikʼa kʼʷekʼʷeskʼiɾi], Polish: Nikoloz „Nika” Kwekweskiri; born 29 May 1992), nicknamed Kvekve,[1] is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań and the Georgia national team.

Nika Kvekveskiri
Kvekveskiri Lech Poznań in 2022
Personal information
Full name Nikoloz Kvekveskiri
Date of birth (1992-05-29) 29 May 1992
Place of birth Zugdidi, Georgia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Lech Poznań
Number 30
Youth career
Baia Zugdidi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Baia Zugdidi 36 (1)
2011–2014 Dinamo Tbilisi 58 (2)
2012–2014 Dinamo Tbilisi II 28 (13)
2013 → Tskhinvali (loan) 11 (1)
2014–2015 Dila Gori 27 (7)
2015–2016 Inter Baku 29 (4)
2016–2017 Gabala 14 (0)
2017–2020 Tobol 75 (5)
2021– Lech Poznań 91 (5)
International career‡
2008–2009 Georgia U17 5 (0)
2009–2011 Georgia U19 6 (0)
2009–2014 Georgia U21 20 (2)
2015– Georgia 60 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:21, 29 May 2024 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:00, 9 June 2024 (UTC).

The family of Kvekveskiri comes from the Gali district of Abkhazia. They had to flee the 1992–93 war and move to a refugee settlement in Zugdidi, where Nika grew up under tough living conditions.[2]

He has played in four countries and won champion's titles three times.

Kvekvesriki was regularly called up to national youth teams. Currently he is the vice-captain of Georgia national team.[3]

Club career

Kvekveskiri started his career in the local club Baia Zugdidi. He made his debut for the first team on 15 August 2009 in a match against FC Locomotive Tbilisi.[4] His first top-league goal scored against Kolkheti 1913 turned out a hard-fought winner on 29 September 2010.[5]

The next year, Kvekveskiri joined Georgian champions Dinamo Tbilisi. During the initial year-and-a-half period he made fifty league appearances for the team and won the double. On 30 June 2011, Kvekveskiri scored his first European goal in a UEFA Europa League 2–0 win over Milsami.[6]

In 2013, he was on loan to Tskhinvali for a half season and in June 2014 he was sold to Dila Gori. With seven league goals netted this year for Dila, Kvekveskiri was a key member of this title-winning team.

Following this season, in 2015 he moved to Azerbaijani Inter Baku. In June 2016, he joined Gabala.[7]

In May 2017, Kvekvesikiri signed a two-year deal with Tobol.[8] On 20 January 2021, Tobol announced that he had left the club.[9]

In January 2021, he moved to Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań till the end of the 2020–21 season.[10] He signed a two-year extension on 29 April 2021,[1] renewed next October until 30 June 2025.[11]

International career

With twenty appearances made for U21s, Kvekveskiri is the most capped Georgian player.[12]

Kvekveskiri made his international debut for the senior team on 8 October 2015 in a 4–0 win against Gibraltar for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.[13]

He was a regular member of the team that produced an eleven-game unbeaten record between October 2021 and November 2022.[14]

On 26 March 2024, Kvekveskiri scored the winning penalty against Greece to send Georgia to the UEFA Euro 2024, their first international tournament in history.[15] In May 2024, he was selected in the team's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[16]

Personal life

Kvekveskiri is married to Salome Bebua, also a refugee from Abkhazia. The couple raises two daughters.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 May 2024[18][19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Baia Zugdidi 2009–10 Umaglesi Liga 22043——263
2010–11 Umaglesi Liga 14110——151
Total 36153——414
Dinamo Tbilisi 2010–11 Umaglesi Liga 1700000—170
2011–12 Umaglesi Liga 3322071—423
2012–13 Umaglesi Liga 801000—90
2013–14 Umaglesi Liga 000000—00
Total 5823071—683
Dinamo Tbilisi-2 2012–13 Pirveli Liga 1710———1710
2013–14 Pirveli Liga 113———113
Total 28130000002813
Tskhinvali (loan) 2013–14 Umaglesi Liga 11130——141
Dila Gori 2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 27750——327
Inter Baku 2015–16 Azerbaijan Premier League 2943162—387
Gabala 2016–17 Azerbaijan Premier League 14040111—291
Tobol 2017 Kazakhstan Premier League 14100——141
2018 Kazakhstan Premier League 2321040—282
2019 Kazakhstan Premier League 2222020—262
2020 Kazakhstan Premier League 16000——160
Total 7553060—845
Lech Poznań 2020–21[20] Ekstraklasa 12010——130
2021–22[21] Ekstraklasa 29260——352
2022–23[22] Ekstraklasa 2821019[lower-alpha 1]11[lower-alpha 2]0493
2023–24[23] Ekstraklasa 221301[lower-alpha 3]0—261
Total 915110201101236
Career total 369383745051045847
  1. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seventeen appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. Appearance in Polish Super Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 9 June 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Georgia 201520
201630
201780
201880
201940
202080
202180
202290
202370
202430
Total600

Honours

Dinamo Tbilisi

Dila Gori

Lech Poznań

References
  1. "Kvekveskiri na dłużej w Kolejorzu" (in Polish). Lech Poznań. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  2. ""თუ კარგად ვითამაშე, ვარიანტი არ არის, ჩემს გულში ჩუმად არ ვთქვა, - შენთვის, ჩემო აფხაზეთო - მეთქი" - გზა დევნილობიდან დიდ სპორტამდე, ანუ კვეკვესკირის "ხმაურიანი სიჩუმე"". ambebi.ge (in Georgian). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  3. "ნიკა კვეკვესკირი - 30 წლის ვარ, მაგრამ უკეთ თამაშიც შემიძლია" (in Georgian). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  4. "Baia vs Locomotive". soccerway.com.
  5. "Baia vs Kolkheti 1913". soccerway.com.
  6. "Dinamo Tbilisi vs Milsami". uefa.com. 30 June 2011.
  7. "Квеквескири выбрал Габалу". azerifootball.com (in Russian). Azeri Football. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  8. "კვეკვესკირმა "ტობოლთან" კონტრაქტი გააფორმა". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). World Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  9. "🇬🇪მადლობა ნიკა 🇬🇪 Спасибо, Ника!". fctobol.kz/ (in Russian). FC Tobol. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  10. "Nika Kvekveskiri piłkarzem Lecha" (in Polish). Lech Poznań. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  11. "Ekstraklasa: Nika Kwekweskiri na dluzej w Lechu Poznan. Kontrakt do 2025 roku". polskieradio24.pl (in Polish). 20 October 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  12. "Georgia U21 statistics". UEFA. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  13. "Georgia put four past Gibraltar". uefa.com.
  14. "ნიკა კვესკვესკირი: იმ გუნდის ნაწილი ვარ, რომელიც რეკორდებს ამყარებს". europop.ge (in Georgian) (in Georgian). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  15. "Euro 2024: Georgia beat Greece on penalties to qualify for first-ever finals". France 24. 26 March 2024.
  16. Kijeski, Bartosz (22 May 2024). "Kolejny piłkarz Lecha Poznań powołany do reprezentacji na mistrzostwa Europy". gol24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  17. ""წარმატებული მამაკაცის უკან, ძლიერი ქალი და ოჯახი დგას!" - ვინ არის ნიკა კვეკვესკირის ულამაზესი მეუღლე: ფეხბურთელის ოჯახური იდილია". ambebi.ge (in Georgian). 31 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  18. "N.Kvekveskiri". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  19. "Nika Kvekveskiri". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  20. "Sezon 2020/21" [2020/21 season] (in Polish). 90minut. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  21. "Sezon 2021/22" [2021/22 season] (in Polish). 90minut. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  22. "Sezon 2022/23" [2022/23 season] (in Polish). 90minut. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  23. "Sezon 2023/24" [2023/24 season] (in Polish). 90minut. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
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