1. Kakha Kaladze played for the Georgia national team from 1996 to 2011.
31 Facts About Kakha Kaladze
1. 2.
Kakha Kaladze has won one Serie A, three Ukrainian Premier League and five Umaglesi Liga titles.
3.
Kakha Kaladze's brother was kidnapped in a high-profile case in 2001 and officially declared dead in 2006, resulting in two men being sentenced to prison for a combined total of 30 years.
4.
Kakha Kaladze is married to Anouki Areshidze, with whom he has four children.
5.
Kakha Kaladze was elected to the Parliament of Georgia on 1 October 2012 and approved as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Energy in Ivanishvili's cabinet on 25 October 2012.
6.
Kaladze started his career playing as a striker for his local club Lokomotiv Samtredia, where his father was president, until former Georgia international footballer David Kipiani requested Kakha to join Dinamo Tbilisi.
7.
Kakha Kaladze won eight league titles in a row during his time at both Dinamo Tbilisi and Dynamo Kyiv.
8.
On 10 February 1999, almost two years before his move to Milan would happen, Kakha Kaladze was part of the Dynamo Kyiv team that went to Italy for a mid-season friendly game against AC Milan, which at the time had been in the final stages of negotiations for the transfer of Andriy Shevchenko.
9.
Kakha Kaladze's burning desire to join one of the European top teams coincided with witnessing his teammate's near career-ending injury.
10.
Kakha Kaladze is the first Georgian player to win a Champions League title.
11.
On 30 June 2005, Kakha Kaladze extended his contract with Milan until 2010 and again on 4 September 2006, this time until 2011.
12.
On 31 August 2010, Kakha Kaladze signed with Genoa on a free transfer.
13.
On 12 May 2012, Kakha Kaladze announced his retirement from football.
14.
Kakha Kaladze won his first cap against Cyprus in a friendly match on 27 March 1996, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Mikhail Kavelashvili.
15.
Kakha Kaladze subsequently featured in his country's qualifying campaigns for the 1998,2002,2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, and the 2000,2004 and 2008 UEFA European Championships.
16.
Just two matches later, Kakha Kaladze was sent off for the second time playing for Georgia, along with Georgi Kinkladze, against Moldova in another 1998 World Cup qualifier.
17.
Kakha Kaladze occasionally captained the side during these qualifiers in the absence of Georgi Nemsadze.
18.
Kakha Kaladze played in all of the matches and often missed the friendlies in between.
19.
Kakha Kaladze only played in three matches during the Euro 2004 qualifiers, where Georgia finished in last place in the group.
20.
Kakha Kaladze played in all but one of the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches, where Georgia finished sixth in the group, with Kazakhstan being the only team to finish below them.
21.
On 5 September 2009, Kakha Kaladze scored two own goals in a 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Italy within the space of 11 minutes.
22.
Kakha Kaladze was the captain of the national team, until 11 December 2011, when he announced his retirement.
23.
Kakha Kaladze started to learn both Ukrainian and Russian after his move to Dynamo Kyiv and quickly became fluent.
24.
On 14 July 2009, Kakha Kaladze's wife Anouki gave birth to their first-born son in Milan.
25.
Kakha Kaladze has been active in charitable causes and is a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages.
26.
Kakha Kaladze owns Kala Capital, an investment company established in 2008 in Georgia with a focus on energy businesses, and whose chief executive is former Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli.
27.
Kakha Kaladze is the owner of a restaurant called Giannino, founded in 1899 by Giannino Bindi, which is based in Milan.
28.
Reports on the same day indicated that Kakha Kaladze might refuse the energy portfolio or sell off his shares in Georgia Hydropower Construction Company within 10 days of his appointment.
29.
Kakha Kaladze was elected to the Parliament of Georgia on 1 October 2012 as majoritarian of Samtredia constituency.
30.
Kakha Kaladze was approved as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Energy in the cabinet of Bidzina Ivanishvili on 25 October 2012.
31.
In July 2017, Kakha Kaladze resigned as Energy minister in order to run for Tbilisi mayor in the upcoming local elections.