Zourab Tsiskaridze

Zourab Tsiskaridze

Personal information
Full name	Zourab Tsiskaridze Jr.
Date of birth	(1986-12-08) 8 December 1986
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Soviet Union
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender/Midfielder
Club information
Current club	FC Amkar Perm
Number	77
Youth career
2000	Legia Warszawa
2004	AA Internacional
2005	Barueri
2007–2008	FC Sète
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008	FC Sète	7	(0)
2009	Miami FC	18	(1)
2010	Vancouver Whitecaps	26	(0)
2011	Montreal Impact	10	(0)
2011-	FC Amkar Perm	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:13, 18 September 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Zourab Tsiskaridze (born 8 December 1986 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian footballer who currently plays for FC Amkar Perm.

Early life

Tsiskaridze was born in the Georgian SSR prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Tsiskaridze's father, Zourab Tsiskaridze Sr., left to pursue a career as an opera singer in the United States in the early 1990s, so Tsiskaridze moved with his mother and stepfather, dancer Walery Mazepczyk, to Poland; he eventually joined his father in America in 2000, at the age of 14, settling in suburban Washington D.C..

Career

Youth

Tsiskaridze attended high school in McLean, Virginia, where he was a standout soccer player. He began his career 2004 in Brazil with the U-20 team with Limeira based club Associação Atlética Internacional and played then the first six months in 2005 with the U-20 side of Grêmio Recreativo Barueri. He earned himself a tryout with D.C. United before his senior year of high school, but was not offered a contract by the team, who advised him to play college soccer. Instead, Tsiskaridze left school to pursue a professional soccer career, travelling to Brazil and France, among other countries.

Professional

Tsiskaridze spent time with the Kansas City Wizards reserves in 2007, but was never signed to a professional contract. He spent spent eighteen months with the reserve and first team of FC Sète, and in 2008 played seven games in the French third division Championnat National.

Tsiskaridze was signed by USL First Division side Miami FC in April 2009, after impressing the coaching staff during an open tryout. Tsiskaridze had traveled all the way from France for the event. He played 18 games and scored one goal for Miami in his first season in the league. On 2 December 2009, he signed a one-year contract with Vancouver Whitecaps.

On 19 October 2010, the Vancouver Whitecaps released Tsiskaridze, along with five fellow players, citing their need to purge certain players in preparation for their upcoming promotion to Major League Soccer.

On 17 February 2011, he signed a new contract with the Montreal Impact for the last season of the club in NASL, before the entry of the Impact in the MLS in 2012.

Personal life

Tsiskaridze's father, Zourab Tsiskaridze Sr., is a trained opera singer who has performed with the Georgian State Opera, and who currently owns a chain of Russian food markets in the Greater Washington DC area.

Career stats

Team	Season	League	Domestic League			Domestic Playoffs			Domestic Cup1			Concacaf Competition2			Total
			Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Miami FC	2009	USL-1	18	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	1	0
Vancouver Whitecaps	2010	USSF D2	26	0	1	1	0	0	4	0	0	-	-	-	31	0	1
Montreal Impact	2011	NASL	10	0	1	-	-	-	2	0	0	-	-	-	12	0	1
		Total NASL	54	1	2	1	0	0	6	0	0	-	-	-	57	1	2

External links

• Vancouver Whitecaps bio
• Miami FC bio