Solomon "Saba" Kvirkvelia (Georgian: სოლომონ "საბა" კვირკველია, romanized: solomon "saba" k'virk'velia, pronounced [sɔlɔmɔn sɑbɑ kʼviɾkʼvɛliɑ]; born 6 February 1992) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Neftçi PFK and the Georgia national team.
![]() Kvirkvelia with Rotor Volgograd in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (1992-02-06) 6 February 1992 (age 30) | ||
Place of birth | Samtredia, Georgia | ||
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Neftçi | ||
Number | 4 | ||
Youth career | |||
Gloria Samtredia | |||
2005– | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
Tengiz Sulakvelidze Academy Tbilisi | |||
2009–2010 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2017 | Rubin Kazan | 87 | (3) |
2012–2013 | → Neftekhimik (loan) | 18 | (0) |
2017 | → Lokomotiv Moscow (loan) | 12 | (0) |
2017–2021 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 68 | (3) |
2020–2021 | → Rotor Volgograd (loan) | 19 | (0) |
2021–2022 | Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | 6 | (0) |
2022 | Gagra | 12 | (0) |
2022– | Neftçi | 5 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2009–2010 | Georgia U-19 | 6 | (0) |
2011–2013 | Georgia U-21 | 14 | (0) |
2014– | Georgia | 46 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 July 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 July 2022 |
After spending a season with Zenit Saint Petersburg, Kvirkvelia joined another Russian club, FC Rubin Kazan in 2011. He made his Russian Premier League debut for FC Rubin Kazan on 22 July 2011 in a game against FC Terek Grozny.[1]
In February 2017, FC Rubin Kazan and Lokomotiv Moscow agreed a loan deal for Kvirkvelia until the end of the season.[2] Kvirkvelia became a regular member of the team, participating 12 games until the end of the season. Lokomotiv won Russian Cup during this season, which was the first title for the Georgian with his new club.[3]
On 30 June 2017, he moved to Lokomotiv on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract.[4]
On 20 August 2020, he joined Rotor Volgograd on loan for the 2020–21 season.[5]
On 8 April 2022, Kvirkvelia returned to Georgia and signed with Gagra.[6]
On 4 July 2022, Neftçi announced the signing of Kvirkvelia on a two-year contract.[7]
On an international level, he debuted for Georgia in a friendly match against Liechtenstein on 5 March 2014.
Individual
Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other1 | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Rubin Kazan | 2011–12 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
2012–13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
2013–14 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 22 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | |||
2015–16 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | ||
2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 87 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 3 | |
Neftekhimik (loan) | 2012–13 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
Lokomotiv Moscow | 2016–17 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
Total | 41 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 3 | |
Career total | 146 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 186 | 6 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Georgia | |||
2014 | 7 | 0 | |
2015 | 5 | 0 | |
2016 | 8 | 0 | |
2017 | 6 | 0 | |
2018 | 4 | 0 | |
2019 | 3 | 0 | |
2020 | 5 | 0 | |
2021 | 1 | 0 | |
2022 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 41 | 0 |
Georgian Footballer of the Year | |
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