Levan Kobiashvili

Levan Kobiashvili

Personal information
Full name	Levan Kobiashvili
Date of birth	10 July 1977 (1977-07-10)
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	left wingback
Club information
Current club	Hertha BSC
Number	3
Youth career
	Awasa Tbilisi
	Olimpi Rustavi
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1994	Olimpi Rustavi	48	(0)
1995–1998	Dinamo Tbilisi	36	(3)
1997	→ Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	21	(5)
1998	→ SC Freiburg (loan)	26	(3)
1998–2003	SC Freiburg	123	(27)
2003–2010	Schalke 04	168	(9)
2010–	Hertha BSC	70	(4)
National team‡
1994	Georgia U17	2	(0)
1995	Georgia U21	1	(0)
1996–	Georgia	100	(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2011

Levan Kobiashvili (Georgian: ლევან კობიაშვილი, born 10 July 1977) is a Georgian footballer who plays as defender for Hertha BSC.

Career

His career began in his hometown with Awasa Tbilisi. Moving to play for Metalurg Rustavi, Dinamo Tbilisi and Alania Vladikavkaz he was transferred to SC Freiburg in 1998, where he was one of several Georgians in the squad. In his first half season with Freiburg, he helped the club earn promotion to the Bundesliga. The club managed to avoid relegation the following season, and in 2001 even qualified for the UEFA Cup, finishing fifth in the league. The following season, however, Freiburg were relegated back the second division. After earning promotion to the Bundesliga a second time, in 2003, Kobiashvili transferred to FC Schalke. With Schalke, he finished second in the Bundesliga twice, in 2005 and in 2007, and played in the final of the DFB-Pokal in 2005. In 2005–06, he helped Schalke reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, which Schalke lost to the eventual champions FC Sevilla. In 2008, he reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, which Schalke lost to FC Barcelona. Over six and a half years with Schalke, Kobiashvili made his way into Schalke's international record books. Having played thirty five international club matches, he ranks third among Schalke players, and is tied for fourth with Klaus Fischer, Kevin Kurányi, and Licoln on goals scored in international competitions, with seven.

On 20 December 2009 he announced he would be leaving FC Schalke 04 to transfer to Hertha BSC. He joined his new club on 1 January 2010.

Position

He plays primarily as a left wingback or left winger. His main strengths are his stamina and passing. Levan has a very strong left foot and is an excellent set-piece taker.

Club

As of 16 December 2011.

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hertha BSC	2011–12	16	1	1	0	0	0	17	1
	2010–11	32	3	2	0	0	0	34	3
	2009–10	16	0	0	0	1	0	17	0
	Total	64	4	3	0	1	0	68	4
Schalke 04	2009–10	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1
	2008–09	29	0	3	0	5	0	37	0
	2007–08	13	1	2	0	5	0	20	1
	2006–07	29	3	4	1	1	0	34	4
	2005–06	32	1	3	0	13	4	48	5
	2004–05	32	3	7	0	13	3	52	6
	2003–04	29	0	1	0	8	0	38	0
	Total	168	9	20	1	45	7	233	17
SC Freiburg	2002–03	28	10	3	0	0	0	31	10
	2001–02	31	4	3	1	6	1	40	6
	2000–01	31	7	4	2	0	0	35	9
	1999–2000	33	6	4	1	0	0	37	7
	1998–99	26	3	1	0	0	0	27	3
	1997–98	15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1
	Total	164	31	15	4	6	1	185	36
Alania Vladikavkaz (loan)	1997	21	5	0	0	1	0	22	5
	Total	21	5	0	0	1	0	22	5
Dinamo Tbilisi
	1997–98	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1996–97	7	3	0	0	4	0	11	3
	1995–96	27	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
	Total	36	3	0	0	4	0	40	3
Olimpi Rustavi	1994–93	25	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
	1993–94	23	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
	Total	48	0	0	0	0	0	48	0
Career Total		501	52	38	5	57	8	596	65

^* Includes Liga-Pokal and DFL-Supercup.

International goals

Scores and goals list Georgia's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 June 2001	Népstadion, Budapest	Hungary	1–4	1–4	2002 World Cup qualifier
2.	29 March 2003	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi	Republic of Ireland	1–1	1–2	Euro 2004 qualifier
3.	4 June 2005	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana	Albania	2–3	2–3	2006 World Cup qualifier
4.	16 August 2006	Svangaskarð, Toftir	Faroe Islands	4–0	6–0	Euro 2008 qualifier
5.	15 November 2006	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	Friendly
6.				2–0
7.	11 October 2008	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi	Cyprus	1–1	1–1	2010 World Cup qualifier
8.	28 March 2009	Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca	Cyprus	1–2	1–2	2010 World Cup qualifier
9.	14 October 2009	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	2–6	2–6	2010 World Cup qualifier
10.	3 March 2010	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi	Estonia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
11.	26 March 2011	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi	Croatia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier

Honours

• Dinamo Tbilisi
  • Umaglesi Liga
    • Champion: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
  • Georgian Cup
    • Champion: 1995, 1996, 1997
  • Georgian Super Cup
    • Champion: 1996, 1997
• FC Schalke 04
  • UEFA Intertoto Cup
    • Champion: 2003, 2004
  • Fußball-Bundesliga
    • Runner-Up: 2004–05, 2006–07
  • DFB-Pokal
    • Runner-Up: 2004–05
  • Ligapokal
    • Champion: 2005–06

External links

• Levan Kobiashvili transfermarkt.de (German)
• Levan Kobiashvili at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Levan Kobiashvili at RSSSF