Nika Kacharava
Personal information
Full name Nikoloz Kacharava
Date of birth (1994-01-13) 13 January 1994
Place of birth Nicosia, Cyprus
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Panevėžys
Number 9
Youth career
2011–2012 Dinamo Tbilisi
2012–2013 Gagra
2013–2014 Rubin Kazan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Tskhinvali 41 (25)
2016–2018 Rostov 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Ethnikos Achna (loan) 27 (16)
2017–2018 → Korona Kielce (loan) 26 (7)
2018–2022 Anorthosis Famagusta 51 (11)
2020–2021 → Lech Poznań (loan) 7 (1)
2022 Jeonnam Dragons 10 (2)
2023 Torpedo Kutaisi 14 (3)
2023– Panevėžys 7 (2)
International career‡
2012–2013 Georgia U19 8 (2)
2013–2016 Georgia U21 10 (6)
2016– Georgia 24 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 May 2023

Nikoloz "Nika" Kacharava (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ "ნიკა" კაჭარავა, romanized: nik'oloz "nik'a" k'ach'arava, pronounced [nikʼoloz nikʼa kʼatʃʼaɾava]; born 13 January 1994) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for A Lyga club Panevėžys.[1] Born in Cyprus, he plays for the Georgia national team.

Club career

Kacharava started his career in the second team of Dinamo Tbilisi. A promising youth, he found it hard finding opportunities to break into the Tbilisi first team and signed a contract with Rubin Kazan.[2] Kacharava played several matches with the Rubin Kazan youth squads, but found it hard to break into the first team squad.[3] Kacharava got his first official contract with Rubin Kazan, but became frustrated with the lack of first team opportunities.

Kacharava moved back to Georgia and signed a contract with FC Tskhinvali. In his first season, Kacharava scored only one goal - however, in the following seasons Kacharava cemented his spot in the first team, becoming a prolific scorer and one of the top forwards in the league.[4] He attracted attention throughout Europe, eventually transferring to Rostov during one of their most successful seasons.[5]

He spent the 2016–17 season on loan in Cyprus at Ethnikos Achna, scoring 16 goals and becoming the third-best scorer of the 2016–17 Cypriot First Division.[6]

On 18 June 2017, he signed another year-long loan deal, joining the Polish club Korona Kielce.[7]

On 6 June 2018, Kacharava signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta.[8] On 24 January 2020, he signed a two-year contract extension, with a buy-out clause of €500,000.

On 8 February 2022, Kacharava joined South Korean K League 2 club Jeonnam Dragons.[9] A year later he returned to Georgia and moved to Torpedo Kutaisi, but left the club by mutual consent after three months.[10]

In August 2023, Kacharava signed a contract with Lithuanian club Panevėžys until the end of the season with an option of its extention.[11]

International career

Kacharava was born in Cyprus to parents of Georgian descent – his father Kakhaber Kacharava was a member of the Georgia national team and his mother Lia Mikadze was a basketball player.[12] Kacharava had successful stints with the Georgian youth national teams, and made his debut for the senior Georgian national team in a friendly 0–0 tie with Kazakhstan.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 November 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tskhinvali 2013–14 Umaglesi Liga 1000——10
2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 251265——3117
2015–16 Umaglesi Liga 1513212[lower-alpha 1]1—1915
Total 41258621—5132
Rostov 2015–16 Russian Premier League 0000——00
Ethnikos Achna (loan) 2016/17 Cypriot First Division 271620——2916
Korona Kielce (loan) 2017–18 Ekstraklasa 26732——299
Anorthosis Famagusta 2018–19 Cypriot First Division 2343210—276
2019–20 Cypriot First Division 18630——216
2020–21 Cypriot First Division 200000—20
Total 43106210—5012
Lech Poznań (loan) 2020–21 Ekstraklasa 711060—141
Jeonnam Dragons 2022 K League 2 92005[lower-alpha 2]1—143
Torpedo Kutaisi 2023 Erovnuli Liga 143———143
Panevėžys 2023 A Lyga 72———72
Career total 174662010142—20878

International goals

Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kacharava goal.[15]
List of international goals scored by Nika Kacharava
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
124 March 2017Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia Serbia1–01–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
25 September 2020A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia1–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League C
311 October 2020Stadion Miejski, Tychy, Poland Armenia1–12-22020–21 UEFA Nations League C

Honours

Panevėžys

References

  1. ↑ Nika Kacharava at Soccerway
  2. ↑ "სპორტული პორტალი - ნიკა კაჭარავა ყაზანის "რუბინის" 72-ე ნომერია". sportall.ge. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  3. ↑ "Качарава Ника - Нападающий - Ростов - Kacharava Nika". news.sportbox.ru. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  4. ↑ "სპორტული პორტალი - ნიკა კაჭარავა რუსულ, ბელგიურ და ჰოლანდიურ კლუბებს სურთ". sportall.ge. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  5. ↑ "სპორტული პორტალი - რუსული მედია: "როსტოვმა" ნიკა კაჭარავაში 300 ათას ევრომდე გადაიხადა". sportall.ge. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  6. ↑ "2016-17 Cypriot First Division Topscorers". cfa.com.cy. Cyprus Football Association. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Kaczarawa piłkarzem Korony!" (in Polish). Korona Kielce. 18 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Στα κυανόλευκα ο Νίκα Κατσαράβα!" (in Greek). Anorthosis Famagusta FC. 7 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "[오피셜] 전남, 조지아 국가대표 장신 공격수 니카 카차라바 영입" (in Korean). goal.com. 8 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "ნიკა კაჭარავამ ქუთაისის "ტორპედო" დატოვა". footballnews.ge (in Georgian). 26 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "Puolimo grandį papildė kartvelas". fk-panevezys.lt (in Lithuanian). 22 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Nika Kacharava: "I Leave for Austria with "Rubin" and also Prepare for Euro 2013"".
  13. ↑ "Georgia 1 - 1 Kazakhstan - Match Report & Highlights". skysports.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  14. ↑ Nika Kacharava at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "Kacharava, Nika". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Nika Kaczarawa". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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