Malkhaz Asatiani

Malkhaz Asatiani
Personal information
Full name	Malkhaz Asatiani
Date of birth	4 August 1981 (age 40)
Place of birth	Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Centre back, defensive midfielder, playmaker
Youth career
1997–1999	Torpedo Kutaisi
Senior career*
National team‡
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 November 2010; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 December 2008

Malkhaz Asatiani (Georgian: მალხაზ ასათიანი; born 4 August 1981 in Kutaisi) is a retired Georgian football defender who last recently played for Lokomotiv Moscow. He started as an attacking midfielder but his displays at the back earned him a solid reputation as a central defender. Mostly playing as center-back at his club, Asatiani was often used as a playmaker for the national team.^{[citation needed]} His passing, technical skills and eye for decisive goals made him an extremely versatile player.

Career[]

Club[]

His club career started in Torpedo Kutaisi. During his stay of three and a half years the team won the Georgian league title three years in a row. He then earned a transfer to Russian team Lokomotiv Moscow. He plays mostly as a defender at the club and mostly as a midfielder in the national team.

On 3 December. Asatiani told the Russian newspaper, Sport-Express, that he will be leaving Lokomotiv in the end of 2010 on a free transfer. On 21 December such departure was made official.

In August 2008, Asatiani was bought on a half-year loan by Dynamo Kyiv.

National[]

For the National Team, Malkhaz has played 18 international matches and scored 4 goals since his debut in 2001. One of the goals came against rivals Russia in a Euro 2004 qualifying match, something for which Asatiani received praise. He also scored important goals in the 2006 World Cup qualifying phase.

Statistics[]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Eurocups		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Torpedo Kutaisi	1999/2000	13	3	0	0	0	0	13	3
	2000/2001	23	5	0	0	0	0	23	5
	2001/2002	25	1	0	0	0	0	25	1
	2002/2003	15	6	0	0	0	0	15	6
	Total	76	15	0	0	0	0	76	15
Lokomotiv Moscow	2003	10	1	0	0	0	0	10	1
	2004	19	1	1	0	2	0	22	1
	2005	28	3	2	1	12	2	42	6
	2006	14	0	2	0	1	0	17	0
	2007	14	1	0	0	5	0	19	1
	2008	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Total	89	6	6	1	20	2	115	9
FC Dinamo Kiev	2008/2009	5	0	2	1	5	0	12	1
FC Dinamo Kiev	Total	5	0	2	1	5	0	12	1
Lokomotiv Moscow	2009	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	2010	11	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total	25	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
Career total		195	21	8	2	25	2	228	24

Honours[]

Torpedo Kutaisi[]

Georgian League (3): 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
Georgian Cup (1): 2000–01

Lokomotiv Moscow[]

Russian League (1): 2004
Russian Cup (1): 2006–07
Russian Super Cup (2): 2003, 2005
Commonwealth of Independent States Cup (1): 2005

Dynamo Kyiv[]

Ukrainian League (1): 2008–09

External links[]

Malkhaz Asatiani at National-Football-Teams.com