Otar Kakabadze () (, ; born 27 June 1995) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Polish club Cracovia, which he captains, and the Georgia national team.
Club career
Dinamo Tbilisi Born in Tbilisi, Kakabadze was a Dinamo Tbilisi youth graduate. He made his debut with the reserves on 27 November 2012, starting in a 2–0 away win against Racha Ambrolauri, and scored his first senior goal in a 6–0 home routing of Kakheti Telavi on 19 October 2013.
Kakabadze was promoted to the main squad in 2014. He made his professional debut on 16 September of that year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Irakli Dzaria in a 6–0 home thrashing of Shukura Kobuleti.
Kakabadze quickly established himself as a starter at Dinamo, and scored his first professional goal on 23 October 2015, netting the winner in a 2–1 home success over FC Tskhinvali.
Gimnàstic On 7 July 2016, Kakabadze signed a three-year deal with Spanish Segunda División side Gimnàstic de Tarragona.
On 4 January 2017, it was confirmed, that Kakabadze had signed a loan-deal with Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB for the rest of the season.EfB lejer georgisk landsholdsspiller‚ efb.dk, 4 January 2017 Upon returning, he became a regular starter for Nàstic.
FC Luzern On 30 August 2018, Kakabadze was transferred to Swiss side FC Luzern.
Tenerife On 25 September 2020, Kakabadze returned to Spain and its second division after agreeing to a contract with CD Tenerife.
Cracovia On 12 June 2021, Ekstraklasa club Cracovia announced signing Kakabadze on a three-year deal.
During this period Kakabadze took part in 69 league matches, scoring six times. During the 2022–23 season, he was included in the Ekstraklasa Team of the Week four times.
In May 2024, his contract with the club was extended until 2027.
International career After representing Georgia at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, Kakabadze made his debut for the full squad on 8 October 2015, starting in a 4–0 home win against Gibraltar for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.
In late March 2024, Kakabadze played both UEFA Euro 2024 play-off matches in full and contributed to the senior team's historic achievement. In May 2024, he was selected in Georgia's squad for the tournament played in Germany. He appeared in all four of Georgia's games, as they caused an upset by qualifying for the knockout phase. Kakabadze recorded an assist in their final game of the tournament, a 1–4 loss to Spain in the round of 16.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDinamo Tbilisi II 2011–12 Pirveli Liga 70———70 2012–13 Pirveli Liga 101———101Total 171000000171Dinamo Tbilisi 2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 23061—10301 2015–16 Umaglesi Liga 17150—10231Total 4011110020532Gimnàstic 2016–17 Segunda División 6030——90 2017–18 Segunda División 361———361 2018–19 Segunda División 20———20Total 441300000471 Esbjerg (loan) 2016–17 Danish Superliga 90——30120Luzern 2018–19 Swiss Super League 12020——140 2019–20 Swiss Super League 200314 0—271 2020–21 Swiss Super League 10———10Total 330514000421 Tenerife 2020–21 Segunda División 16030——190Cracovia 2021–22 Ekstraklasa 19310——203 2022–23 Ekstraklasa 27121——292 2023–24 Ekstraklasa 23220——252 2024–25 Ekstraklasa 30310——313 2025–26 Ekstraklasa 13210——142 2026–27 Ekstraklasa 9010——100Total 1211181000012912Career total 28014303405031917
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGeorgia20153020164020178020188020191002020502021902022602023502024130202560202640Total810
Honours Dinamo Tbilisi Umaglesi Liga: 2013–14, 2015–16 Georgian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 Georgian Super Cup: 2014, 2015
References
External links