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Levan KobiashviliMidfielder
Date of Birth: 10.07.1977
Country:  Georgia |
Content:
Levan Kobiasvili - Biography
Early Career and Move to GermanyLevan Kobiasvili began his career as a midfielder in the Tbilisi-based club "Dynamo", where he became a two-time champion of Georgia in 1996 and 1997. He then moved to "Alania", the reigning champion of Russia at that time. After playing in the 1997 season, with 25 matches and 4 goals in the league and 3 goals in the cup, he transferred to the German club "Freiburg", which was playing in the second Bundesliga at the time. Levan's successful performance played a crucial role in the club's achievements, scoring 7 goals (including 5 penalty kicks) in 31 matches and receiving an average rating of 3.2 from Kicker. He also had a successful financial year, earning 4 million DM. He was included in the symbolic national team of the championship by the Russian sports newspaper, Sport-Express. There were talks of offers from reputable German clubs, but due to his performances in the cup competitions, he decided to stay with the club. However, the club failed to adequately prepare for competing on two fronts, and towards the end of the season, it was too late to start over. As a result, they finished in 16th place and were relegated to the second division. Levan's statistics for the season included 31 matches, 4 goals (3 from penalties), 5 assists, and 6 cup matches with 1 goal. It was clear that no one wanted to play in the lower division in the prime of their career, so rumors of a move to another club began to circulate. But he decided to stay and help "Freiburg" return to the top tier of German football. The reasons for his decision were unclear, as he played for them for another season. He played well, scoring 10 goals in 28 matches, and they were promoted back to the top division in their first attempt. However, spending his career trying to lift clubs to higher divisions may not have been the right choice. What if they had not been able to return immediately? Then it would have been difficult to find a decent offer. Nonetheless, everything went relatively smoothly, and in 2003 he transferred to "Schalke 04", narrowly avoiding a move to "Kaiserslautern". He signed a contract until 2006. This was a new level for him. Schalke was a club that constantly played in European competitions, had great ambitions and financial capabilities. There was more competition, but also more opportunities. In the club, he was initially given the number 7 shirt, but later switched to number 3. At that time, the team included Danish player Sand, almost Germans Asamoah and Altintop, Waldoch, Böhme, and Van Kerckhoven. His teammates were of a higher level and more ambitious. In the 2003/2004 season, he may not have performed as brilliantly as in previous seasons. He played regularly, featuring in 29 league matches (with 3 assists) and 3 cup matches. He did not score, but there was an explanation for this: he did not take penalties or free kicks like he did at "Freiburg". The club finished in 7th place, which was seen as a failure since they did not qualify for European competitions.
Continued Success at Schalke
In the 2004/2005 season, Schalke strengthened their squad with the Brazilian forward Ailton, who was the top scorer of the previous season while playing for the champions, Werder Bremen. The club had a strong squad and had a chance to compete for the championship. They ended up finishing as runners-up. They also won the League Cup in 2005. Levan played in 32 matches and scored 3 goals, with 4 assists in the Bundesliga and received an average rating of 3.2 from Kicker. He also played 8 cup matches, scoring 1 goal. However, their European campaign ended unexpectedly with a loss to "Shakhtar". Levan's contract was extended until 2010. At "Schalke", he started to play more defensively, often playing as a left-back. He took many set-pieces and became a typical defensive player who intercepted, ran, passed, received, and crossed the ball - his game did not prioritize goalscoring.
