Solomon "Saba" Kvirkvelia (Order of Honor) (Georgian: სოლომონ "საბა" კვირკველია, romanized: solomon "saba" k'virk'velia, pronounced [solomon saba kʼʷiɾkʼʷelia]; born 6 February 1992) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Erovnuli Liga club Torpedo Kutaisi and the Georgia national team.
 Kvirkvelia with Rotor Volgograd in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 February 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Samtredia, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Torpedo Kutaisi | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gloria Samtredia | |||
| 2005– | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Tengiz Sulakvelidze Academy Tbilisi | |||
| 2009–2010 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2017 | Rubin Kazan | 87 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | → Neftekhimik (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Lokomotiv Moscow (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2017–2021 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 68 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | → Rotor Volgograd (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | 6 | (0) |
| 2022 | Gagra | 12 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Neftçi | 33 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | Al-Okhdood | 33 | (1) |
| 2024 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 13 | (1) |
| 2025– | Torpedo | 25 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Georgia U-19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Georgia U-21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2014– | Georgia | 61 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 October 2024 | |||
He has been twice named as Footballer of the Year in Georgia.[1]
Club career
editRubin Kazan
editAfter spending a season with Zenit Saint Petersburg, Kvirkvelia joined another Russian club, Rubin Kazan in 2011. He made his Russian Premier League debut for Rubin Kazan on 22 July 2011 in a game against FC Terek Grozny.[2]
Lokomotiv Moscow
editIn February 2017, Rubin Kazan and Lokomotiv Moscow agreed a loan deal for Kvirkvelia until the end of the 2016–17 season.[3] Kvirkvelia became a regular member of the team, participating 12 games until the end of the 2016–17 season. Lokomotiv won Russian Cup during this season, which was the first title for the Georgian with his new club.[4]
On 30 June 2017, he moved to Lokomotiv on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract.[5]
Loan to Rotor Volgograd
editOn 20 August 2020, he joined Rotor Volgograd on loan for the 2020–21 season.[6]
Move to Ukraine
editIn October 2021, Kvirkvelia moved to the Ukrainian Premier League side Metalist 1925,[7] although his tenure was abruptly ended due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gagra
editNeftçi
editAl-Okhdood
editOn 15 July 2023, Kvirkvelia joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Okhdood on a free transfer.[11]
Dinamo Tbilisi
editOn 2 September 2024, Dinamo Tbilisi announced the signing of Kvirkvelia on a contract until the end of the year.[12]
Torpedo Kutaisi
editOn 6 February 2025, Kvirkvelia moved to Torpedo, the runners-up of the previous Erovnuli Liga season, on a two-year deal.[13]
International career
editOn an international level, he debuted for Georgia in a friendly match against Liechtenstein on 5 March 2014.
In 2011–13, Kvirkvelia was repeatedly called up to the U21 team. Having participated in 14 competitive games, he is among the five all-time most capped players.[14]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 6 December 2025[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rubin Kazan | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | – | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 87 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 3 | ||
| Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (loan) | 2012–13 | Russian National Football League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 41 | 3 | ||
| 2018–19 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 80 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 107 | 4 | ||
| Rotor Volgograd (loan) | 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | 2021–22 | Ukrainian Premier League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Gagra | 2022 | Erovnuli Liga | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Neftçi | 2022–23 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 33 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | — | 42 | 2 | |
| Al-Okhdood | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2024 | Erovnuli Liga | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| Torpedo Kutaisi | 2025 | Erovnuli Liga | 25 | 2 | – | 2[f] | 0 | 2[g] | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| Career total | 326 | 11 | 28 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 396 | 12 | ||
- ↑ Includes Russian Cup, Ukrainian Cup, Azerbaijan Cup, King Cup
- 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ↑ Appearance in Russian Super Cup
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League qualifiers
- ↑ Appearances in Georgian Super Cup
International
editHonours
editReferences
edit- ↑ "GFF Awards 2017". Georgian Football Federation (in Georgian). 27 December 2017.
- ↑ "Game report by RFPL". Russian Premier League. 22 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
- ↑ FC Rubin and FC Lokomotiv made a loan deal for Kverkvelia
- ↑ Lokomotiv win the 2017 Russian Cup Final in Sochi
- ↑ Кверквелия перешёл в «Локо» (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 30 June 2017.
- ↑ "Соломон Кверквелия стал игроком "Ротора"" (in Russian). FC Rotor Volgograd. 20 August 2020.
- ↑ "Металлист 1925 подписал защитника сборной Грузии". football.ua (in Russian). 14 October 2021.
- ↑ "ეროვნული ნაკრების მცველი, საბა კვერკველია, ოფიციალურად ჩვენი ფეხბურთელია" (in Georgian). Gagra. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ↑ "Gürcüstan milli komandasının üzvü "Neftçi"də". neftchi.az/ (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ↑ "Solomon Kverkveliya ilə müqaviləyə xitam verilib". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ↑ "ادي #الأخدود يعلن التوقيع مع اللاعب الجورجي سولومون كفيركفيليا".
- ↑ "საბა კვერკველია დინამოს ფეხბურთელია". facebook.com/DINAMOTB (in Georgian). FC Dinamo Tbilisi Facebook. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ↑ "კვირკველია კარიერას სხვა ქართულ კლუბში გააგრძელებს" (in Georgian). sportline.ge. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ↑ "Georgia U21, statistics". UEFA.
- ↑ Solomon Kvirkvelia at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ↑ "Kvirkvelia, Solomon". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ↑ ""Локомотив" – обладатель Олимп-Кубка России по футболу" [Lokomotiv is the winner of the Olimp-Russian Cup] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 22 May 2019.
External links
edit- Solomon Kvirkvelia at Russian Premier League (in Russian) (archive in English)
- Solomon Kvirkvelia at Soccerway
- Solomon Kvirkvelia – UEFA competition record (archive)