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Irakli Azarovi (Georgian: ირაკლი აზაროვი; born 21 February 2002) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk and the Georgia national team.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 February 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Batumi, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shakhtar Donetsk | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2019 | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 12 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Dinamo Batumi | 53 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Red Star Belgrade | 21 | (0) |
| 2023– | Shakhtar Donetsk | 27 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Georgia U17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2019 | Georgia U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | Georgia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2020– | Georgia U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2021– | Georgia | 18 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2023 | |||
Azarovi has won the Georgian, Serbian and Ukrainian top league trophies five times in a row. He has also been recognized as the Erovnuli Liga Defender of the Year and best young player of the season.[2]
Dinamo Tbilisi
Born in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, Azarovi joined Dinamo Tbilisi, aged 10. He trained regularly in the youth teams of the club all the way until 2019 when he debuted for the Dinamo first team. Playing mostly as a reserve, he made seven appearances in 2019, and five in the 2020 season, contributing in both for Dinamo to win the Georgian national title.[citation needed]
Dinamo Batumi
In 2021, Dinamo Batumi was betting strong and bringing quality reinforcements, so Azarovi made a move that earned him much more play time and becoming a regular in the starting line-up, resulting in a successful season crowned with a 2021 Georgian championship. This also made him became a regular call in the Georgian national team, resulting in a widespread interest from clubs from abroad.
Red Star Belgrade
Soon, after a half season with Dinamo Batumi in the 2022 season, Serbian club Red Star Belgrade brought Azarovi to their ranks. In December 2022, he was announced as a top 10 most talented left-backs in world football.[citation needed]
Azarovi made 21 league appearances for the club, who clinched the league title this season. This success made him a four-time champion at the age of 21.
Shakhtar Donetsk
On 22 August 2023, Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk announced signing Azarovi on a five-year deal.[3] He played 32 matches in all competitions and with Shakhtar winning the Premier League and the national cup added two more titles to his tally.[4][5]
Following this season, Azarovi joined the list of top five highest valued Georgian players.[6]
Azarovi made his international debut for Georgia on 2 June 2021, starting in a friendly match against Romania.[1] He took part in most of Georgia's 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches which paved the way for their first ever qualification for a major international tournament.
Before that, he was a regular in all youth team squads since 2017. He also took part in all four games of the national U21 team in 2023 European U21 championship.
Club
- As of match played 10 November 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2019 | Erovnuli Liga | 7 | 0 | – | 1[b] | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Dinamo Batumi | 2021 | Erovnuli Liga | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | – | 42 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 18 | 0 | – | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 53 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 4 | ||
| Red Star | 2022–23 | Serbian Super Liga | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | – | 25 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2023–24 | Ukrainian Premier League | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 113 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 4 | ||
- Includes Georgian Cup, Serbian Cup, Ukrainian Cup
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance in Georgian Super Cup
International
- As of 19 November 2023[7]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 0 | |
Dinamo Tbilisi
Dinamo Batumi
Red Star Belgrade
Shakhtar
Individual
- Best Georgian young player: 2021[8]
- Erovnuli Liga Defender of the Year: 2021
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