Saba Lobjanidze () (, ; born 18 December 1994) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake and the Georgia national team.
Club career Born in Tbilisi, Lobjanidze started playing for Norchi Dinamoeli at the age of 10. Later he joined Dinamo Tbilisi.
Randers In June 2017, Lobjanidze signed a three-year contract with Randers. In April 2018, in six games Lobjhanidze scored six times for Randers, including a hat-trick against Sønderjyske, which won him the Player of the Month award among Georgian football players. Besides, he was twice named in team of the week in the Danish Superliga.
MKE Ankaragücü On 30 January 2020, Lobjanidze signed with Turkish club MKE Ankaragücü. He made his debut on 2 February in a 1–1 league draw against Kasımpaşa.
Hatayspor In June 2021, Lobjanidze signed a three-year contract with Hatayspor, after Ankaragücü had relegated from the Süper Lig.
Following a devastating earthquake in Turkey and subsequent withdrawal of Hatayspor from the league in February 2023, he joined Fatih Karagümrük on loan until the end of the season.
Atlanta United
In early August 2023, Lobjanidze moved to MLS club Atlanta United on a three-year deal. He finished the 2023 MLS Regular Season with 3 goals and 4 assists in 9 games.
On 30 May 2024, Saba Lobjanidze was named Player of the Matchday after his first career MLS brace guided Atlanta United to 3-1 win at Inter Miami CF. On 20 July 2024, Lobjanidze became the sixth player in club history to record at least 20 goal contributions in their first 30 matches with the team. Lobjanidze finished the MLS Regular Season with 9 goals and 3 assists in 30 matches. His goal on the final matchday of the season against Orlando City helped Atlanta United to earn a spot in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. He then went on to score against Inter Miami CF on 25 October 2024 in the first game of the series. Atlanta United went on to win the series against Inter Miami.
Real Salt Lake On 1 July 2026, Atlanta United traded Lobjanidze and a third-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft to Real Salt Lake for up to $725,000 in General Allocation Money.
International career Lobjanidze made his debut for the Georgia national team on 23 January 2017 in a friendly against Uzbekistan, scoring one of the two goals of his team.
In 2024, Lobjanidze was called up by Georgia for the 2024 European Championships.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDinamo Tbilisi II2012–13Pirveli Liga10–––10 2013–14Pirveli Liga185–––185 Total195000000195 Dinamo Tbilisi2014–15Umaglesi Liga24161–10312 2015–16Umaglesi Liga15210––162 2017Erovnuli Liga137–––137 Total52107100106011 Chikhura (loan)2016Umaglesi Liga1293220–1711Randers2017–18Danish Superliga29921–433513 2018–19Danish Superliga378–––378 2019–20Danish Superliga158–––158 Total81252100438729 MKE Ankaragücü2019–20Süper Lig151–––151 2020–21Süper Lig37310––383 Total524100000534 Hatayspor2021–22Süper Lig37830––4082022–23Süper Lig211–––211Total589300000619Fatih Karagümrük (loan)2022–23Süper Lig102–––102 Atlanta United2023MLS12300–301532024MLS3510102 1–38112025MLS330–3–1–3612026MLS13210142Total931320513010317Career total37779184728341088
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGeorgia201731201820201931202050202190202270202361202420202531Total404
Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lobjanidze goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Saba LobjanidzeNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 23 January 2017 The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2–1 2–2 Friendly2 10 June 2019 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark 1–1 1–5 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification3 25 March 2023 Batumi Stadium, Batumi, Georgia 6–1 6–1 Friendly4 8 June 2025 Ramaz Shengelia Stadium, Kutaisi, Georgia 1–0 1–1 Friendly
Honours Dinamo Tbilisi Georgian League: 2015–16 Georgian Cup: 2014-15, 2015-16 Super Cup: 2015
References
External links