Budu Zivzivadze (Order of Honor) (Georgian: ბუდუ ზივზივაძე; born 10 March 1994) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC and the Georgia national team.

Budu Zivzivadze
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth Kutaisi, Georgia
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Karlsruher SC
Number 11
Youth career
2009–2011 School No. 35 Tbilisi
2011–2012 Dinamo Tbilisi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Dinamo Tbilisi 1 (0)
2012–2014Dinamo-2 Tbilisi 50 (47)
2015 Torpedo Kutaisi 8 (0)
2015–2016 Samtredia 44 (29)
2017–2019 Esbjerg 13 (1)
2018Dinamo Tbilisi (loan) 35 (22)
2019 Torpedo Kutaisi 20 (13)
2019–2020 Mezőkövesd 32 (8)
2020–2023 Fehérvár 53 (12)
2022Újpest (loan) 12 (11)
2023– Karlsruher SC 52 (21)
International career
2011 Georgia U17 3 (0)
2013 Georgia U19 9 (2)
2014–2016 Georgia U21 4 (0)
2017– Georgia 32 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:40, 11 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2024

Being the winner of the Umaglesi Liga and the Georgian Super Cup, he was named the Georgian Player of the Year in 2016.[2]

Early life

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Budu Zivzivadze was born on 10 March 1994 in Kutaisi, Imereti, to Kakha Zivzivadze and Rusudan Gegeshidze and has one elder sister. He was named in honour of his grandfather who passed away at early age.[3]

As a child, Budu attended chess and dancing classes[4][5] before football swept him up.

Club career

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At age 8, Budu Zivzivadze entered the Imedi football school in Kutaisi. He was a midfielder during the initial two years.[6]

In 2011, he joined Dinamo Tbilisi. During the four seasons at this club, he mainly played for its reserve team taking part in Pirveli Liga. With 23 goals netted in 21 matches for Dinamo-2 in 2013–14, Zivzivadze became the topscorer. He made a professional debut with the senior team on 11 September 2014 in an away game against Metalurgi Rustavi as a second-half substitute.[7]

In 2015, Zivzivadze moved to the top-tier club Samtredia, where he displayed his goalscoring abilities and played a crucial role in winning their first ever champion's title. The striker was named the best player of the 2016 season.[8]

Budu signed with Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB in January 2017, but did not play much until he was loaned out to Dinamo Tbilisi for the 2018 season.[9] He did very well, scoring 28 goals in all competitions. Zivzivadze shared a topscorer's award with Giorgi Gabedava. Also, he was included in symbolic team of the season.[10] After returning to Esbjerg, the club announced on 29 January 2019, that he had left the club, this time permanently, after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[11]

Two days later, it was announced, that he had re-joined Torpedo Kutaisi.[12] Zivzivadze was named by Erovnuli Liga as the best player of part 2 of the four-phase championship after netting eight goals in nine games.[13] Due to Torpedo's financial troubles, his second tenure with this team lasted six months.

In July 2019, he signed for Nemzeti Bajnokság I side Mezőkövesd.[14]

On 11 February 2022, Zivzivadze was loaned by Fehérvár to Újpest until the end of the season.[15]

On 31 January 2023, the last day of the 2022–23 winter transfer window, Zivzivadze signed with 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC until 2025.[16] His contract with Fehérvár had been due to run out in the summer.[16]

During his second season at Karlsruher, Zivzivadze netted twelve goals in 30 league matches and became the team's second topscorer after Igor Matanović.

International career

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Zivzivadze made his debut for the Georgia national team in a friendly match against Uzbekistan on 23 January 2017.[17] He scored his first goal for the senior national team on 25 March 2022, the only goal in a 1–0 friendly win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[18]

On 21 March 2024, Zivzivadze bagged a vital brace in a 2–0 win over Luxemburg in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs,[19] which eventually helped the team to reach European Championship for the first time in their history. He received a call-up for Euro 2024[20] and took part in two matches.[21]

Personal life

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Zivzivadze is married to Nini Kvernadze. Their daughter was born during the COVID-19 period. For this reason, Budu was unable to see her until she turned six months old.[22]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 10 November 2024[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dinamo Tbilisi B 2012–13 Pirveli Liga 19 14 19 14
2013–14 Pirveli Liga 21 23 21 23
2014–15 Pirveli Liga 10 10 10 10
Total 50 47 50 47
Dinamo Tbilisi 2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 1 0 1 0
Torpedo Kutaisi 2014–15 Umaglesi Liga 8 0 2 0 10 0
Samtredia 2015–16 Umaglesi Liga 29 16 5 2 34 18
2016 Umaglesi Liga 14 13 2 1 2 1 18 15
Total 43 29 7 3 2 1 52 33
Esbjierg 2016–17 Danish Superliga 7 0 2 1 9 1
2017–18 Danish 1st Division 4 0 4 0
Total 11 0 2 1 13 1
Dinamo Tbilisi (loan) 2018 Erovnuli Liga 35 22 3 4 2 2 40 28
Torpedo Kutaisi 2019 Erovnuli Liga 20 13 1 0 1[a] 0 22 13
Mezőkövesd 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 32 8 6 2 38 10
Fehérvár 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 31 9 4 3 3 0 38 11
2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 12 2 2 0 14 2
2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 10 1 6 6 16 7
Total 53 12 4 3 11 6 68 21
Újpest (loan) 2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 12 11 2 0 14 11
Karlsruher SC 2022–23 2.Bundesliga 10 1 10 1
2023–24 2.Bundesliga 30 12 1 0 31 12
2024–25 2.Bundesliga 12 8 2 2 14 10
Total 52 21 3 2 55 23
Career total 317 163 30 15 15 9 1 0 363 187
  1. ^ Appearance in Georgian Super Cup

International

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Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zivzivadze goal.
List of international goals scored by Budu Zivzivadze
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 25 March 2022 Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina   Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 1–0 Friendly [24]
2 5 June 2022 Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad, Bulgaria   Bulgaria 3–1 5–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C [25]
3 9 June 2022 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia   North Macedonia 1–0 3–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C [26]
4 25 March 2023 Adjarabet Arena, Batumi, Georgia   Mongolia 6–1 6–1 Friendly [27]
5 12 September 2023 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway   Norway 1–2 1–2 2024 UEFA Euro qualifiers [28]
6 21 March 2024 Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia   Luxembourg 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs [29]
7 2–0
8 9 June 2024 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro   Montenegro 3–1 3–1 Friendly [30]

Honours

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Samtredia

Torpedo Kutaisi

Individual

References

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  1. ^ UEFA.com. "Budu Zivzivadze | Georgia | European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ "GFF AWARDS 2016: საქართველოში საუკეთესოები აღიარეს". fortuna.ge (in Georgian). 29 December 2016.
  3. ^ ""რატომ ბუდუ? ამ სახელს თავისი ისტორია აქვს" - ინტერვიუ ცნობილი ფეხბურთელის მამასთან: ვის ჰგავს სტუმართმოყვარეობაში ბუდუ ზივზივაძე და როგორი იყო ოჯახის ემოციები დიდი გამარჯვების შემდეგ". ambebi.ge (in Georgian). 30 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  4. ^ ""ბადარა ბუდუზი..." – როგორ გამოიყურებოდა ბავშვობაში ბუდუ ზივზივაძე". digest.ge (in Georgian). 30 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  5. ^ "ბუდუ ზივზივაძე: ეს არ უნდა ვიკმაროთ! წნეხი არ გვაქვს, შეგვიძლია ლაღად ვითამაშოთ". europop.ge (in Georgian) (in Georgian). 30 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  6. ^ ""მთავარია, რომ ტრანსფერის დროს ფულზე ფიქრმა არ გაჯობოს"". sportall.ge (in Georgian). 4 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Metalurgi Rustavi vs Dinamo Tbilisi". soccerway.com.
  8. ^ "ბუდუ ზივზივაძე - საქართველოს ჩემპიონატის საუკეთესო ფეხბურთელი". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). 28 December 2016.
  9. ^ EfB-angriber vender hjem til Tbilisi på leje, bold.dk, 9 January 2018
  10. ^ "GFF AWARDS 2018". gff.ge (in Georgian). 28 December 2018.
  11. ^ Esbjerg fritstiller georgisk angriber, bold.dk, 29 January 2019
  12. ^ ბუდუ ზივზივაძე უკვე "ტორპედოშია", sportall.ge, 31 January 2019
  13. ^ "ეროვნულმა ლიგამ მეორე წრის საუკეთესო ფეხბურთელი, მწვრთნელი და გუნდი დაასახელა" (in Georgian). 17 June 2019.
  14. ^ Mezőkövesd: válogatott csatár érkezett, gólkirály is volt, nso.hu, 12 July 2019
  15. ^ "Budu Zivzivadze continues on loan at Újpest" (Press release). Fehérvár. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Nationalspieler Zivzivadze stürmt für den KSC". kicker (in German). 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  17. ^ Uzbekistan – Georgia (Report) Soccerway.
  18. ^ "90 MINUTES FOR DZEKO WITH BOSNIA". inter.com. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Georgia beats Luxembourg 2–0 in Euro 2024 qualifiers". georgiatoday.ge. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  20. ^ "საქართველოს ნაკრების შემადგენლობა EURO 2024-ისთვის". euronewsgeorgia.com. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Budu Zivzivadze". uefa.com. 22 July 2024.
  22. ^ "ბუდუ ზივზივაძის რთული პერიოდი, როცა ნაკრებში არ იძახებდნენ..." digest.ge (in Georgian). 22 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  23. ^ Budu Zivzivadze at Soccerway
  24. ^ "BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA VS. GEORGIA 0 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  25. ^ "BULGARIA VS. GEORGIA 2 - 5". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  26. ^ "NORTH MACEDONIA VS. GEORGIA 0 - 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  27. ^ "Georgia vs Mongolia". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Norway vs Georgia". UEFA. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  29. ^ "Georgia vs Luxemburg match report". uefa.com. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Montenegro vs Georgia match report". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
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