Levan Mtschedlidze

Levan Mtschedlidze
Levan Mtschedlidze in 2009
Personnel
birthday	March 24, 1990
place of birth	Tbilisi ,  Georgian SSR , Soviet Union
size	187 cm
position	Striker , winger
Juniors
Years	station
0000-2006	FC Dila Gori
2006-2008	FC Empoli
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
2005-2006	FC Dila Gori	2 0(0)
2007–	FC Empoli	129 (11)
2008-2010	→  US Palermo  (loan)	11 0(1)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals) 2
2005-2006	Georgia U-17	8 0(3)
2006-2007	Georgia U-19	8 0(1)
2011	Georgia U-21	3 0(0)
2007–	Georgia	28 0(2)
1 Only league games are given. As of July 26, 2016 2 As of July 26, 2016

Levan Mtschedlidze ( Georgian ლევან მჭედლიძე ; born March 24, 1990 in Tbilisi , Georgian SSR , Soviet Union ) is a Georgian football player on the position of a striker and winger . He has been a member of the Italian club FC Empoli since 2006 and has been playing for their professional team in Serie B and Serie A since 2007 .

Club career

Career start at home and move to Italy

Levan Mtschedlidze was born on March 24, 1990 in Tbilisi, at that time still part of the Georgian SSR and thus the Soviet Union. His first known career station was FC Dila Gori , around 90 kilometers northwest of his hometown in the city of Gori in central Georgia. There he was active in the youth field up to and including 2006, but at the age of 15 he made the leap into the first fighting team to play in the Umaghlessi League , the top division of Georgian football. In this he came to two short appearances between 2005 and 2006, in which he remained goalless. In the final classification of the Umaghlessi League 2005/06 he reached eleventh place with his team and thus only just missed the relegation play-offs. Early in 2006 he was piloted by Giovanni Carnevali , a former Italian football player who was meanwhile working as a coach in Georgia , to the then Italian first division club FC Empoli , where Carnevali was also employed as a scout. In September 2006 he switched to the club from Tuscany after he was able to convince the club officials at a tournament with the U-19 national team of his home country in Belgium and was sometimes courted by Bayern Munich . Subsequently, he was exclusively active in the club's own youth and only signed his professional contract with the Tuscan club less than a year later due to bureaucratic problems relating to his non-existent Union citizenship .

After the relegation of FC Empoli at the end of the 2007/08 season , in which Mtschedlidze had not played a single competitive game for the professionals due to a knee injury before the start of the season and was only used in the youth, discussions arose as to whether a further future with the now multiple Georgian International makes sense at all. Subsequently, the Georgian was loaned to previous league rivals US Palermo , where he was to collect game practice from now on. On August 30, 2008, the Serie A club announced the one-year commitment Mtschedlidses as a loan player, with the option of a commitment after the end of the contract period. For this, Palermo paid Empoli a rumored 1.5 million euros in rental fees. A few days later, the Palermo club president Maurizio Zamparini announced that he had committed the Georgian offensive talent for a sum of 6.2 million euros and that there would be no loan change of the player. However, this was subsequently revised again; At the same time it was announced that this transfer fee would only come into effect after the end of the loan period.

First assignments in Italy

After he could not take part in the Serie A game operation in the first two rounds of the 2008/09 season due to missions in the national team, he sat in the third round match against Genoa for the first time unused on the bench of the Sicilians . Just three days later, he made his Serie A debut on September 24, 2008 in a 2-1 away defeat against SSC Napoli when he came on the lawn in the 78th minute for Australian Mark Bresciano . In his second brief assignment, two rounds later, he scored his first goal in a professional league on October 5, 2008 in a 2-1 away win over Juventus Turin . He came on the field in the 60th minute for Bresciano and scored the goal 21 minutes later after Liverani submission to make it 2-1. After that, he was often not part of the first division squad for a long period of time and often spent longer periods of time with the Georgian national team. It was not until the end of November 2008 that he was back in the extended squad of the Rosaneros , but most of the time he sat unused on the bench or made few short appearances. In the course of the 2008/09 season he was in only one game from the start; In total, he made nine league appearances and the said hit against Juventus. With the team he ranked eighth place in the table and thus in the upper half of the table at the end of the season.

Since Empoli still had no employment opportunities for Mtschedlidze, the Sicilians, who initially did not take the option of buying it, were offered an extension of the loan contract for another year. After this was accepted by those in charge of US Palermo, the Georgian made a brief assignment against AS Roma on September 23, 2009 and another brief assignment four days later against Lazio Rome when he submitted the 1: 1 away draw Edinson Cavanis made the only goal for the team. After he only sat unused on the bench in the following round, he was no longer a member of the professional squad and partly spent his time in the club's own youth team or in the reserve squad. After a lackluster start with US Palermo in the 2009/10 season , in which he had little prospect of match practice and was on the substitutes' bench for the last time unused on December 6, 2009, after having made a single appearance in Primavera around a month earlier - Team of the club had graduated, Mtschedlidze did not return to Sicily after the Christmas holidays at home. As a reason, he named the failure to play in the top Italian league. Subsequently, he was completely excluded from the professional team by sports director Walter Sabatini , with no prospect of further assignments in the current season. After Mtschedlidze had still not come to Sicily in March 2010, his loan contract was immediately terminated due to this breach of contract. The Georgian team player thus belonged again to his ancestral club FC Empoli, but could still not be considered for the 2009/10 season due to the breach of contract.

Official return to Empoli

After returning to Tuscany, the now 20-year-old found his way into the team for the first time under Alfredo Aglietti , the sixth Empoli coach since Mtschedlidse's move to Italy, although he was still far from a real breakthrough. Under Aglietti, he was initially taken into account from the start, but never played through the full 90 minutes. Nevertheless, it brought it to ten missions in the first eleven championship rounds, of which not a single game was lost; only in round 16 followed the first defeat of the season for FC Empoli, whereby the elimination in the third round of the Coppa Italia 2010/11 is not taken into account. Levan Mtschedlidze was also used in this round. Between the end of November 2010 and the end of March 2011, the Georgian was then only used very rarely and only made two championship appearances during this time, in a third game he was on the bench without being used. It was not until March 27 that he came back into the squad after a 3-2 away defeat against FC Crotone and scored the goal in the 84th minute to make it 3-2. After further short appearances, he was the "player of the evening" on April 16 , when he scored the first goal himself and assisted Roberto Soriano's second goal in a 2-1 away win over the then championship leaders and later champions Atalanta Bergamo . Subsequently, towards the end of the season, he was often used over a longer period and for the first time stood on the lawn for the full duration of the game. In the final table, which was mostly quite tight, he reached ninth place with FC Empoli. By then he had made 20 league appearances, two goals and four assists.

In the 2011/12 season Mtschedlidze was regularly in the professional squad, although he still only served as a substitute under Alfredo Aglietti and missed some games due to missions in the Georgian national team, especially at the beginning of the season. Even under the briefly engaged interim coach Giuseppe Pillon , the once praised offensive talent only brought appearances as a substitute. After Guido Carboni took over the post of coach of the relegation-threatened second division club on November 20, 2011 , the Georgian, who alternated as a striker and winger, was often considered for the regular formation. Since Carboni could not solve the club, which is still in danger of relegation, from the lower places and with this already occupied the penultimate place in the table, he was replaced after less than three months by the already known Alfredo Aglietti. Under this he then brought it back to numerous short assignments and could not qualify for the regular team. In the final standings, FC Empoli then ranked 18th in the table and had to go into a play-out against relegation , which Empoli only narrowly won with a total score of 3-2 from the first and second leg. As one of the main responsible for staying in the Italian second division, Mtschedlidze himself appeared when he scored a goal in the 3-2 win in the second leg and prepared another for his teammates. Overall, the Georgian team striker was used in 24 league games, in which he scored one goal and prepared another; Furthermore, he completed both games of the play-out and completed a game in the Coppa Italia 2011/12 , in which the team was again subject to Fiorentina .

Still no breakthrough at FC Empoli

Hoped-for missions under Maurizio Sarri, who took over the coaching position at FC Empoli in the summer break before the 2012/13 season , were largely absent and Mtschedlidze remained as a substitute again. He was often not part of the official professional squad or spent some time with the national team. In his 22 league appearances (including the four play-off games) that he played this season, he was only substituted on in 21 games in the final phase and so rarely made appearances over 15 or 20 minutes. In addition to an assist in the league, the center forward scored his only goal in the second play-off game against Novara Calcio and otherwise never appeared as a goalscorer. In the final standings of Serie B, the Georgian, who was now number 19 and who wore the number 99, finished fourth in the table and was only defeated in the play-offs for promotion to Serie A in the final with a total score of 1: 2 AS Livorno .

Even after the unsuccessful rise to the top class, assignments under Maurizio Sarri remained in short supply and a rise to the regular strength alongside experienced and goal-threatening veterans such as Francesco Tavano or Massimo Maccarone remained hopeless. After he either completed short appearances for a few minutes in 24 of the first 25 games of the 2013/14 season or sat on the bench without being used, Sarri did not consider him for several weeks after a yellow card suspension in February and only brought him back to the bench at the end of the season. So he was always on the bench in the last six championship games and was also used in two games, from which time he appeared with the shirt number 9. After a successful season in which they were always on the path to promotion, FC Empoli was 14 points behind US Palermo in second place in the table and thus managed direct promotion to Serie A. Mtschedlidze had 23 league appearances, but here brought only 330 minutes of use, as well as two hits and one assist. However, he acted dangerous in the Coppa Italia 2013/14 when he was eliminated with the team again in the third round, but scored two goals in the 5-1 win in the second round match against FC Südtirol .

In the first games of the season 2014/15 Sarri put him on the side of Francesco Tavano as a regular in the attack line, but was not for two games after the 2-0 defeat by Udinese Calcio and the 0-1 defeat against AS Roma in the professional squad. After that, he was involved in all of the remaining 34 league games, mostly receiving short appearances or sitting on the bench unused again. In the last round of the championship, a 3: 4 defeat against Inter Milan , he showed his quality when he scored in a brace and played the full 90 minutes for the only time since the start of the season. In the final standings it was enough for a 15th place in the table, while this time in the Coppa Italia 2014/15 they were only eliminated in the round of 16 in extra time against AS Roma. Levan Mtschedlidze was used in the third and fourth round game and scored a goal in the latter. In the league it brought to 25 league appearances and four goals.

Due to lack of success, Maurizio Sarri was on leave after the end of the season and instead Marco Giampaolo was hired as coach of the professional team of FC Empoli. Under the Italian-Swiss , he was used in the first two games of the 2015/16 season , but suffered a thigh injury in the 2-1 away defeat against AC Milan on August 29, 2015 and was therefore out for several months due to injury. Due to muscular problems, his entry into team training was delayed, so that he was only back in the professional squad in mid-January 2016. Subsequently, Mtschedlidze acted in his traditional role as a reservist and brought it to a number of short missions, where he also participated in one encounter for the full duration of the game. After being out at short notice at the beginning of April due to an injury, he soon returned to the team as a substitute. After he knocked his opponent down with his elbow in a 0-1 away defeat against FC Carpi on April 25, 2016 , he received a red card and an associated red card suspension from three games. At the end of the season he finished tenth in the table with FC Empoli and had played in 13 league games by then. He was also in action in the 2015/16 Coppa Italia , when he and his team lost 1-0 in their first game against Vicenza Calcio and were eliminated from the current tournament. After the end of the 2015/16 season, Mtschedlidze received Giovanni Martusciello, the twelfth coach during his time at FC Empoli.

National team career

Mtschedlidze gained his first experience in a national team from his home country in 2005, when he was used for the Georgian U-17 national team at the age of 15 . With this he took part in the qualifying round for the U-17 European Championship in October 2005 , but finished last in Group 3 and thus did not even advance into the elite qualifying round. In the following year, the Georgen failed as third in Group 5 again to advance in the European Championship qualification. Between 2005 and 2006, Mtschedlidze, who is considered a hope for the future, was used in eight U-17 internationals and scored three goals. In the years 2006 to 2007 he completed eight more international matches for the U-19 team of Georgia , which failed in qualifying for the U-19 European Championship 2007 in the elite round, and scored a goal for the team. Before he was even used in Italian professional football, the 17-year-old received his first call-up to the senior national team of Georgia in autumn 2007 . The German Klaus Toppmöller brought him into the squad for the European Championship qualifier against the reigning world champion Italy on October 13, 2007 and placed the young player, who did not play for FC Empoli before the start of the season due to a knee injury, in the 0 : 2 defeat one. Toppmöller used him from the start and up to the 60th minute of the game before he replaced him with the more experienced Dawit Siradse .

Already in the next international match, the EM-Quali game against Scotland , came Mtschedlidse, this time on the side of other young players like Levan Kenia or Giorgi Makaridse , used again, scoring in the 16th minute assisted by Zurab Menteshashvili the 1: 0-ahead to the later 2-0 victory and was substituted in the 85th minute for Aleksandre Kwachadze . Although the club did not really work with regular appearances, the young player quickly became a regular in the national team and made regular appearances for them. In the following month he completed a friendly international match, as well as a qualifying match for the European Championship the following year. After another international match against Latvia at the beginning of February 2008, the young international player was largely quiet for half a year, but at the end of August 2008 he started preparing for the qualification for the 2010 World Cup and completed a preparatory game. He then took part with the Georgians in four qualifying games between September and October 2008, but the team remained without a win and also played a friendly against Romania in November .

After he had completed another World Cup qualifier against Cyprus at the end of March 2009 , he was not considered by Héctor Cúper for any further qualifying game, with the Georgians being ranked last in Group 8. It then took over two and a half years before he found his way back into the national team under Temur Kezbaia , after making three international matches during qualifying for the U-21 European Championship that same year . There the Georgians were defeated in the group stage as third in group 5. His first international match after an absence of more than two and a half years was played on October 11, 2011 against Greece in the course of the last qualifying match for the 2012 European Championship . From 2012 Levan Mtschedlidze returned to regular appearances in the national team and, after two friendly international matches in May and August, when he scored his second international goal against Luxembourg, among others , qualified for the 2014 World Cup . Kezbaia used him in four World Cup qualifiers between September and October 2012, with Georgia not qualifying for a final this time either.

After a friendly international match against Albania in February, it was six months before Mtschedlidze was brought back to the national team by Kezbaia. So he played another friendly against Kazakhstan and a little over a year later he took part with the team in qualifying for the Euro 2016 . Here he was used in the first group game against Ireland and in the fourth group game against Poland . After another friendly against Malta , when the new coach Kachaber Zchadadze was already in office, he played part of the remaining European Championship qualifiers under him and was in three of the last six games. With the team he was again defeated in the qualification, where he finished fifth of six places in Group D with the Georgians. After the failed European Championship qualification, it took around nine months before Mtschedlidze was returned to the national team. Under Vladimír Weiss , the sixth Georgian national coach since his debut in 2007, he played in two friendly international matches against Slovakia and Romania in late May and early June 2016 . To date (as of July 29, 2016) Levan Mtschedlidze has been used in 28 international matches and has scored two goals.

successes

• Runner-up in Serie B and promotion to Serie A : 2013/14

Web links

Commons : Levan Mchedlidze  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Levan Mtschedlidze in the database of National-Football-Teams.com (English)
• Lewan Mtschedlidze in the database of transfermarkt.de
• Levan Mtschedlidze in the soccerway.com database

Footnotes & individual references

1. ↑ Various sizes are given (1.87 m at National-Football-Teams.com; 1.88 m at soccerway.com; 1.92 m at Transfermarkt.de)
2. ↑ Levan Mchedlidze al Palermo (Italian), accessed on July 28, 2016
3. ↑ Mchedlidze Plays for "Parma" (English), accessed on July 28, 2016
4. ↑ DICHIARAZIONE DI ZAMPARINI (Italian), accessed on July 28, 2016
5. ↑ Levan ha rescisso, l'Empoli lo chiama ... lui non risponde (Italian), accessed on July 28, 2016