Kakha Kaladze

Kakhaber (Kakha) Kaladze (Georgian: კახა კალაძე, born February 27, 1978 in Samtredia) is a Georgian football player, who currently plays for AC Milan of the Italian Serie A. Popular with his ability to play at different positions equally. (Center Back, Sweeper, Left Back, Defensive midfielder and Left Midfielder) Only Georgian who has ever won UEFA Champions League. One of the few players in the world who have ever won UEFA Champions League twice.

Club

Prior to joining AC Milan, Kaladze played for FC Dinamo Tbilisi (1993-97) and Dinamo Kiev (1998-2000). Kaladze has been capped 50 times for the Georgian national team, of which he is also the current captain.

Kaladze became the most expensive Georgian footballer in history when AC Milan paid €16m to bring him to Italy from Ukrainian side FC Dynamo Kyiv. At Milan, he normally plays as a left back or even as a left-sided midfielder, but recently, he has switched back to a role in the centre of defence, his natural position before joining the Italian club. He made his top-flight debut as a 16-year-old with FC Dinamo Tbilisi during the 1993/94 campaign. He caught the eye with a string of impressive displays and proved a mainstay of the Dinamo defence over four seasons. A €280,000 fee was enough to take him to the Ukrainian Premier League and Dynamo Kyiv in January 98. Here his good form continued, with Kaladze making 63 appearances over two-and-a-half years before bigger, western European clubs came calling. He was transferred to Milan and initially tried out in a variety of defensive and midfield positions, before settling into the left-back berth. Kaladze took a role to form a solid defence along with Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, and Alessandro Costacurta. He made 46 appearances in all competitions as the Rossoneri carried off the UEFA Champions League and the Coppa Italia in 2003. Injuries unfortunately wrecked much of his 2003/04 campaign.

Kaladze returned from injury, however his spot had already been taken. The return of Paolo Maldini in his old left-back role and the flying winger Serginho's switch to full-back limited Kaladze to just 19 Serie A matches and five in the Champions League as Milan finished as runners-up in both competitions. In 2005/06, the injuries of Jaap Stam and Maldini meant he was moved back into the centre of defence. In this new position he was able to fix Milan's defence problems and at one point, Milan did not concede a goal for over five matches in succession. In the summer he renewed his contract with the Rossoneri until 2010.