Otar Kakabadze

Otar Kakabadze (Georgian: ოთარ კაკაბაძე, romanized: otar k'ak'abadze, pronounced [otʰaɾ kʼakʼabadze]; born 27 June 1995) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Polish club Cracovia and the Georgia national team.

Otar Kakabadze
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-06-27) 27 June 1995
Place of birth Tbilisi, Georgia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Cracovia
Number 25
Youth career
2011–2012 Dinamo Tbilisi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Dinamo Tbilisi II 17 (1)
2014–2016 Dinamo Tbilisi 40 (1)
2016–2018 Gimnàstic 44 (1)
2017 → Esbjerg (loan) 12 (0)
2018–2020 Luzern 33 (0)
2020–2021 Tenerife 16 (0)
2021– Cracovia 69 (6)
2021 Cracovia II 2 (0)
International career‡
2011–2012 Georgia U17 9 (0)
2013–2014 Georgia U19 6 (0)
2014–2015 Georgia U21 5 (1)
2015– Georgia 64 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:10, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Dinamo Tbilisi

Born in Tbilisi, Kakabadze was a Dinamo Tbilisi youth graduate. He made his debut with the reserves on 27 November 2012, starting in a 2–0 away win against Racha Ambrolauri, and scored his first senior goal in a 6–0 home routing of Kakheti Telavi on 19 October 2013.

Kakabadze was promoted to the main squad in 2014. He made his professional debut on 16 September of that year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Irakli Dzaria in a 6–0 home thrashing of Shukura Kobuleti.[1]

Kakabadze quickly established himself as a starter at Dinamo, and scored his first professional goal on 23 October 2015, netting the winner in a 2–1 home success over FC Tskhinvali.

Gimnàstic

On 7 July 2016, Kakabadze signed a three-year deal with Spanish Segunda División side Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[2]

On 4 January 2017, it was confirmed, that Kakabadze had signed a loan-deal with Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB for the rest of the season.[3] Upon returning, he became a regular starter for Nàstic.

FC Luzern

On 30 August 2018, Kakabadze was transferred to Swiss side FC Luzern.[4]

Tenerife

On 25 September 2020, Kakabadze returned to Spain and its second division after agreeing to a contract with CD Tenerife.[5]

Cracovia

On 12 June 2021, Ekstraklasa club Cracovia announced signing Kakabadze on a three-year deal.[6]

During this period Kakabadze took part in 69 league matches, scoring six times. During the 2022–23 season, he was included in the Ekstraklasa Team of the Week four times.[7]

In May 2024, his contract with the club was extended until 2027.[8]

International career

After representing Georgia at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, Kakabadze made his debut for the full squad on 8 October 2015, starting in a 4–0 home win against Gibraltar for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.[9]

In late March 2024, Kakabadze played both UEFA Euro 2024 play-off matches in full and contributed to the senior team's historic achievement.[10] In May 2024, he was selected in Georgia's squad for the tournament played in Germany.[11]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 19 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dinamo Tbilisi II 2011–12 Pirveli Liga 70———70
2012–13 Pirveli Liga 101———101
Total 171000000171
Dinamo Tbilisi 2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 23061—1[lower-alpha 1]0301
2015–16 Umaglesi Liga 17150—1[lower-alpha 1]0231
Total 4011110020532
Gimnàstic 2016–17 Segunda División 6030——90
2017–18 Segunda División 361———361
2018–19 Segunda División 20———20
Total 441300000471
Esbjerg (loan) 2016–17 Danish Superliga 90——3[lower-alpha 2]0120
Luzern 2018–19 Swiss Super League 12020——140
2019–20 Swiss Super League 200314[lower-alpha 3]0—271
2020–21 Swiss Super League 10———10
Total 330514000421
Tenerife 2020–21 Segunda División 16030——190
Cracovia 2021–22 Ekstraklasa 19310——203
2022–23 Ekstraklasa 27121——292
2023–24 Ekstraklasa 23220——252
Total 696510000747
Career total 2289273405026412
  1. Appearances in Georgian Super Cup
  2. Appearances in play-offs
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 26 June 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Georgia 201530
201640
201780
201880
2019100
202050
202190
202260
202350
202460
Total640

Honours

Dinamo Tbilisi

References
  1. "Dinamo Tbilisi vs Shukura". Soccerway.com.
  2. "Kakabadze, nueva incorporación grana" [Karabadze, new addition grana] (in Spanish). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. lejer georgisk landsholdsspiller‚ efb.dk, 4 January 2017
  4. "Kakabadze marxa al FC Luzern" [Kakabadze moves to FC Luzern] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 30 August 2018. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. "Otar Kakabadze, nuevo refuerzo del CD Tenerife" [Otar Kakabadze, new addition of CD Tenerife] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  6. "ოფიციალურად: ოთარ კაკაბაძე პოლონურ გუნდში ითამაშებს, ის ორიგინალურად წარადგინეს". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). 12 June 2021.
  7. "პოლონეთში სიმბოლურშია ოთარ ისევ აღიარება კაკაბაძის - ტურის". crystalsport.ge. 7 March 2023.
  8. "ოთარ კაკაბაძემ კრაკოვიასთან კონტრაქტი 2027 წლამდე გაახანგრძლივა". belive.ge (in Georgian). 22 May 2024.
  9. "Georgia put four past Gibraltar". UEFA.com. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. "OTAR KAKABADZE I REPREZENTACJA GRUZJI Z AWANSEM NA EURO 2024!". cracovia.pl (in Polish). 27 March 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  11. Wieczorek, Bartosz (22 May 2024). "Reprezentacja Gruzji ogłosiła kadrę na Euro 2024. Dwóch piłkarzy z Ekstraklasy jedzie na turniej!". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 9 June 2024.
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