Kakha Kaladze

At 46 years old, Kakha Kaladze has this physical status:

Kakhaber Kaladze (born 27 February 1978) is a Georgian politician and former footballer.

He has been mayor of Tbilisi since November 2017.

He was a versatile player who could play both as a center-back and a left-back, as well as as a wide midfielder.

From 1996 to 2011, he competed for the Georgia national team.

In 2001–2003, 2005, 2006, and 2011, he was named Georgian Footballer of the Year, and he was named one of Georgia's top players.

In 1998, he travelled to Dynamo Kyiv and made 71 appearances until 2001, when he was signed by Milan's Italian Serie A club Milan.

He has won one Serie A, three Ukrainian Premier League, and five Umaglesi Liga titles.

He won the Champions League twice, the UEFA Super Cup twice, and the FIFA Club World Cup once more with Milan.

Kaladze, a footballer from Samtredia, a town in Imereti Province, was captaining his country 50 times in 84 appearances until retiring from the Georgian national team on December 11, 2011.Born in Samtredia, a town in Imereti Province, his father played for Lokomotiv Samtredia and was also president of the team for a time.

His brother was kidnapped in a high-profile case in 2001 and then declared dead in 2006, resulting in two men being sentenced to 30 years in jail.

He owns Kala Capital and a Foundation named Kala Foundation, as well as being an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages outside of football.

He is married to Anouki Areshidze, with whom he has four children. Kaladze joined Georgia as a member of the opposition Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, which was established by Bidzina Ivanishvili in February 2012.

On October 1, 2012, he was elected to the Georgia Parliament as both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy in Ivanishvili's cabinet.

He continued to serve both of these positions under Giorgi Kvirikashvili's cabinet until July 2017, when he resigned to run for Mayor of Tbilisi as a Georgian Dream candidate in the October 2017 election, which he won by 51.1 percent.

Personal life

Kakha Kaladze's younger brother, Levan, a medical student, was kidnapped in Georgia on May 23, 2001, owing to a ransom of $600,000 demanded. "Everything is being done to locate him," Georgia's president at the time, Eduard Shevardnadze, told the world. Despite this reassurance, Levan's only time he was seen was in a video in which he was blindfolded and screaming for assistance. Following the kidnapping, Kaladze tried to rename Ukrainian citizenship, but reverted his decision, saying, "It was a time when I thought about quitting the national side entirely, but I couldn't do it out of respect for the Georgian people and the supporters who come and offer us such help." About four years ago, Georgian police officers discovered eight dead bodies in the Svaneti region, and it was suspected that Levan was among the dead. Levan was identified as dead on February 21, 2006, after conducting FBI tests. The ransom was reportedly paid by Kaladze's family, according to a local newspaper, but another source claims that Kaladze's father threatened to meet the kidnappers, who fled as they suspected him to be pursued by the police. David Asatiani was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder, and Merab Amisulashvili for five years. In Milan, Kaladze's mother Anouki gave birth to their first-born son on July 14th. In honor of Kaladze's brother, the couple named their son Levan.

Kaladze has also been involved in charitable causes and is a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages. During the Russian invasion of Georgia, Kaladze, a charitable group established in 2008, raised €50,000 to assist South Ossetian refugees. Kaladze also intends to publish an autobiography with the proceeds going to the Kala Foundation.

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Club career

Kaladze began playing for his hometown club Lokomotiv Samtredia, where his father was president, until former Georgia international footballer David Kipiani asked Kakha to join Dinamo Tbilisi. He appeared in 82 domestic league games and scored one goal, including at Dinamo. During the 1993-1994 campaign, he made his top-flight debut with Dinamo as a 16-year-old boy. Kaladze says he was up against Christian Vieri and I marked him well in his match against Italy while playing for Georgia in a match that ended 0–0; later, he said, "I was up against him and I marked him well."

In January 1998, a fee equal to €280,000 was enough to bring him to the Ukrainian Premier League and Dynamo Kyiv, where he had a four-year contract. In 71 league games over the two-and-a-half seasons he played for, he scored six goals in 71 games. The Ukrainian team had been under the management of Hryhoriy Surkis and the late Valeriy Lobanovskyi since being promoted as manager, and they would go on to win eight consecutive league titles. Kaladze has competed in both legs of the 1998–99 Champions League against Bayern Munich, where Dynamo Kyiv lost 4–3 on aggregate. They defeated Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Arsenal in the semi-finals on their way to the semifinals. During his time at both Dinamo Tbilisi and Dynamo Kyiv, he won eight league titles in a row.

When Milan paid €16 million to bring Kaladze to Italy, he became the most expensive Georgian footballer in history in January 2001. His decision to join one of Europe's top teams coincided with his teammate's near-term injury as a result of poor quality of football pitches in Ukraine at the time. Kaladze became a regular starter almost immediately and played most as a left-sided defensive midfielder in 4–4–2–1–3 formations, especially under caretaker coach Cesare Maldini. In the 2002–03 season, he returned to his first role as a defender (left-sided full back and center back) and made 46 appearances in all leagues, with 27 in Serie A. Milan won the Champions League in 1999, beating Juventus on penalties in the final (despite Kaladze missing his penalty) and the Coppa Italia, where they defeated Roma 6–3 on aggregate. Following Kaladze's double success, the Georgian postal service released a special stamp embling the player's name. He is the first Georgian player to win a Champions League championship.

In the 2003–04 season, Kaladze was limited to just six league appearances and 11 total appearances. Kaladze appeared in only 19 Serie A matches and five in the Champions League this season, when Milan finished runners-up in both leagues. He was an ineffective substitute in the Champions League final, where Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool after a 3–3 draw. He was said to be dissatisfied with his first-team choices and a move to Chelsea in exchange for Hernán Crespo or £4 million, as was widely reported. "I have discussed everything with Chelsea's leadership," Kaladze said. Now it is vital to wait for them to reach an understanding with Milan, and I believe I could play for Chelsea next week." Chelsea chose Asier del Horno rather than signing him. Kaladze signed with Milan on June 30, 2005, and then on September 4, 2006, this time before 2011. Kaladze was relocated to the center of defense in 2005-06, his most coveted position. Milan finished third this season, but they may have finished second if no 2006 Italian football controversy resulted in a 30-point deduction.

Kaladze scored a goal against Sampdoria in 2006-07, his first goal of the season. Milan came in fourth place in fourth place, with an eight-point drop relating to the previous season's scandal. Kaladze won his second Champions League title on May 23, 2007, after Milan defeated Liverpool 2–1 in the final; he came on as a 79th-minute replacement in that match. He later picked up the FIFA Club World Cup in December, when Milan defeated Boca Juniors 4–2 in the final, but Kaladze was one of two players to be ruled out in the match. He had made his mark as a first-team regular in the 2007–08 season, making 32 appearances, but he was limited to playing sparingly in the 2008–09 season due to a knee ligament injury sustained in a UEFA Cup match against Zürich. "Milan certainly does need a new center-back after Kakha Kaladze's horror show in the derby," Kaladze's appearance on the Channel 4 website, which sparked controversies over a suspected smear campaign between Kaladze and the Georgian newspaper Lelo. In the league this season, Milan finished third, ten points behind Inter Milan's Serie A champions, Inter Milan; Kaladze attributed the Milan squad's many injuries; many of Milan's injuries were attributed to the Milan team's many injuries.

Kaladze joined Genoa on August 31; Milan later announced that it was a free transfer. He appeared in 26 games and scored one goal, against Parma on January 30, 2011. By La Gazzetta dello Sport, he was named second-best defender of the 2010–11 Serie A, losing only to his former colleague, Milan's Thiago Silva. Kaladze announced his retirement from football on May 12th.

International career

Kaladze earned his first cap against Cyprus in a friendly match on March 27, 1996, replacing Mikhail Kavelashvili as a 72nd minute substitute. He was suspended in his international career against Lebanon in a friendly match later this year. He and his team lifted the Malta International Football Tournament in 1998. He continued to compete in his nation's qualifying tournaments for the 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2000, 2004, and 2008 UEFA European Championships. Georgia hasn't qualified for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship since being thrown out of the Soviet Union. In a 1998 World Cup qualifier, he made his competitive debut against Poland on June 14; Georgia lost the match 4–1. Kaladze and Georgi Kinkladze played for Georgia against Moldova in another 1998 World Cup qualifier, just two games later. Georgia finished in fourth place in the group and didn't qualify. Georgia finished sixth in qualifying for Euro 2000, with just one win. In the absence of Georgi Nemsadze, Kaladze captained the team during the qualifiers.

Georgia finished third in third place in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, ahead of Hungary and Lithuania. Kaladze attended all of the games, but sadly missed the friendlies in between. During the Euro 2004 qualifiers, Kaladze only participated in three matches, with Georgia finishing last place in the group. He did participate in a 1–0 win over Russia, which was considered to be one of Georgia's greatest triumphs. Kaladze participated in just one of the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches, where Georgia finished sixth in the group, with Kazakhstan finishing last, with Kazakhstan being the only team to finish lower. During Euro 2008, he appeared in fewer games, and Georgia failed to qualify once more as they tied for sixth place in sixth place, despite a 6–0 victory over the Faroe Islands in the start of their campaign.

In a friendly in which Georgia defeated Latvia 3-1, he scored his first international goal against Latvia on February 6, 2008. Kaladze scored two own goals in a 2010 World Cup qualifier versus Italy within 11 minutes on September 5, 2009. To Italy, the match came to an end 2–0. Kaladze served as the captain of the national team until 2011, when he announced his retirement. "Kakha Kaladze is a man of the history of football in Georgia," Gianni Merlo, La Gazzetta dello Sport reporter and president of the International Sports Press Association, AIPS [Italian]. He was a pillar of the defense and also a kind and polite one in Milan.

Political career

Kaladze has been an investor in Georgia, Italy, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan as part of his football career. Kaladze, an investment firm that started in 2008 in Georgia with a focus on energy companies, is owned by Kaladze, and its CEO, former Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli.

The Buddha Bar in Kyiv, which opened in 2008, is one of Kaladze's other shops. Kaladze is also the owner of Giannino, a restaurant that is headquartered in Milan and founded in 1899 by Giannino Bindi in 1899. Davide Oldani has performed under Michelin's leadership, and Roberto Molinari, the restaurant's chef, has been in charge.

Kala Capital owned 55% of the Georgia Hydropower Construction Company, SakHidroEnergoMsheni, a joint stock company established in Georgia in 1998. His appointment as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in October 2012 was also overshadowed by fears of a serious danger of a conflict of interest. Kaladze could abandon the energy portfolio or sell some of his shares in Georgia Hydropower Construction Company within ten days of his appointment, according to reports on the same day.

Kaladze joined Georgia's opposition party, the Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia Party, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili in February 2012. On October 1, 2012, he was elected as the majoritarian of Samtredia's Constituency. On October 25, 2012, he was approved as both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy in Bidzina Ivanishvili's cabinet. In professional energy circles, the meeting was greeted with suspicion. More important, it ignited a tense discussion over a conflict of interest arising from Kaladze's commercial interests in the Georgia Hydropower Construction Company, in which Kala Capital owned 5 percent. Kala Capital sold the shares to GMC Group in November 2012, but questions about his indirect commercial interests remained.

Kaladze resigned as Energy minister in order to run for mayor Tbilisi in the forthcoming local elections in July 2017. He was elected mayor of Georgia as a leader of the Georgian Dream on October 22nd, winning 51% of the vote. He was sworn in on November 13, 2017.

In 2021, his term will have come to an end. Kaladze has voted for a second term as mayor of Tbilisi and 2021, the first in 2021. Kaladze began her campaign on July 20.

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