During the early years of the English Premiership, foreign players were few and far between. Those that did ply their trade in England at the time though have gone on to become cult heroes. Dennis Bergkamp, David Ginola and Andrei Kanchelskis created their own legacies in England with their dazzling displays that excited and encaptivated the thrilled spectators. One player that produced numerous moments of brilliance yet failed to have the same success as the aforementioned was the little Georgian - Georgi Kinkladze.
Started his career in his native Georgia, Kinkladze moved from a relatively small Tbilisi club to the dominant force in Georgian football Dinamo Tbilisi. It was at Dinamo that he flourished. He scored at an extraordinary rate bagging 41 league goals in only 65 appearances. His time at Dinamo was broken by spells on loan at German side Saarbruken as well as Argentinian giants Boca Juniors. Sadly for Georgi, neither of these loan moves produced great success or resulted in a transfer to these respective clubs. However, his consistently good performances domestically did not escape the views of Manchester City's then manager Alan Ball. This move thrust the diminutive Georgian into the public eye for the first time in his career and he took it with both feet.
Manchester City were struggling in the Premiership when Georgi joined but he proved a bright light in these dark times for the City faithful. His persistent dribbling and fighting spirit endeared him to the spectators. He took his time to settle in England but this never showed on the pitch as he scored several outstanding solo goals, most notably against Southampton where he weaved his way effortlessly through the defence before casually chipping the onrushing goalkeeper Dave Beasant. Despite his performances, Georgi was unable to keep Manchester City in the Premiership as they were relegated in the 1995-96 season. As one would expect, this demise in City's fortune prompted much speculation that the little Georgian would move on to bigger and better things but he stayed loyal to the side that brought him into England and
stayed with them as they competed in Division One.
Once again, Georgi's presence and flair were not enough to protect City from yet another relegation and Georgi fell out of favour as new manager Joe Royle preferred defensive players as opposed to the flair that Georgi could offer. His days at City seemed numbers and Kinkladze would ultimately move on to Amsterdam club Ajax in 1998. He would spend 2 years in the Netherlands but his first team opportunities were limited and he made the move back to England with Derby, initially on loan. Kinkladze enjoyed success that, although not quite as prolific as his Man City days, reminded onlookers of those days back in 1996 but Derby turned out to be Georgi's last long-serving club. Spells in Cyprus with Anorthosis and in Russia with Rubin followed as Georgi was entering the twilight of his career. He retired in 2007 after a career spanning almost 20 years consisting of many mind-boggling dribbles and goals.
Georgi has certainly left his legacy in football, particularly in England. Any football fan of note can recall his legendary goal against Southampton in the Premiership back in 1996. He was a joy to behold for both his own supporters as well as neutrals. Rival clubs wished they had him in their ranks during his peak with European giants such as Barcelona mooted with having an interest in him. Despite this he showed loyalty that is all too absent in the modern game. He is a great example of a player from Eastern Europe that infiltrated the history of English football and the hearts of supporters throughout the land and he goes to show that you don't have to play the best to be considered a true footballing great.
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