| Nika Kacharava | |
| Fullname: | Nikoloz Kacharava |
| Birth Date: | 13 January 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Currentclub: | Spartakos Kitiou |
| Height: | 1.98 m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| Youthyears2: | 2012–2013 |
| Youthclubs2: | Gagra |
| Youthyears3: | 2013–2014 |
| Youthclubs3: | Rubin Kazan |
| Years1: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Tskhinvali |
| Caps1: | 41 |
| Goals1: | 25 |
| Years2: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs2: | Rostov |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs3: | → Ethnikos Achna (loan) |
| Caps3: | 27 |
| Goals3: | 16 |
| Years4: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs4: | → Korona Kielce (loan) |
| Caps4: | 26 |
| Goals4: | 7 |
| Years5: | 2018–2022 |
| Caps5: | 51 |
| Goals5: | 11 |
| Years6: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs6: | → Lech Poznań (loan) |
| Caps6: | 7 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2022 |
| Clubs7: | Jeonnam Dragons |
| Caps7: | 10 |
| Goals7: | 2 |
| Years8: | 2023 |
| Clubs8: | Torpedo Kutaisi |
| Caps8: | 14 |
| Goals8: | 3 |
| Years9: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs9: | Panevėžys |
| Caps9: | 17 |
| Goals9: | 2 |
| Years10: | 2024– |
| Clubs10: | Spartakos |
| Caps10: | 0 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2012–2013 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2013–2016 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 10 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 6 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2016– |
| Nationalcaps3: | 24 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 11 June 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 1 May 2023 |
Nikoloz "Nika" Kacharava (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ "ნიკა" კაჭარავა|tr, in Georgian pronounced as /nikʼoloz nikʼa kʼatʃʼaɾava/; born 13 January 1994) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot Second Division club Spartakos. Born in Cyprus, he has played for the Georgia national team.
Kacharava started his career in the second team of Dinamo Tbilisi. A promising youth, he found it hard finding opportunities to break into the Tbilisi first team and signed a contract with Rubin Kazan.[1] Kacharava played several matches with the Rubin Kazan youth squads, but found it hard to break into the first team squad.[2] Kacharava got his first official contract with Rubin Kazan, but became frustrated with the lack of first team opportunities.
Kacharava moved back to Georgia and signed a contract with FC Tskhinvali. In his first season, Kacharava scored only one goal - however, in the following seasons Kacharava cemented his spot in the first team, becoming a prolific scorer and one of the top forwards in the league.[3] He attracted attention throughout Europe, eventually transferring to Rostov during one of their most successful seasons.[4]
He spent the 2016–17 season on loan in Cyprus at Ethnikos Achna, scoring 16 goals and becoming the third-best scorer of the 2016–17 Cypriot First Division.[5]
On 18 June 2017, he signed another year-long loan deal, joining the Polish club Korona Kielce.[6]
On 6 June 2018, Kacharava signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta.[7] On 24 January 2020, he signed a two-year contract extension, with a buy-out clause of €500,000.
On 8 February 2022, Kacharava joined South Korean K League 2 club Jeonnam Dragons.[8] A year later he returned to Georgia and moved to Torpedo Kutaisi, but left the club by mutual consent after three months.[9]
In August 2023, Kacharava signed a contract with Lithuanian club Panevėžys until the end of the season with an option of its extension.[10]
In July 2024, newly promoted second-division Cypriot club Spartakos Kitiou announced signing Kacharava.[11]
Kacharava was born in Cyprus to parents of Georgian descent – his father Kakhaber Kacharava was a member of the Georgia national team and his mother Lia Mikadze was a basketball player.[12] Kacharava had successful stints with the Georgian youth national teams, and made his debut for the senior Georgian national team in a friendly 0–0 tie with Kazakhstan.[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tskhinvali | 2013–14 | Umaglesi Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Umaglesi Liga | 25 | 12 | 6 | 5 | — | — | 31 | 17 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Umaglesi Liga | 15 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 19 | 15 | |||
| Total | 41 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 51 | 32 | ||||
| Rostov | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Ethnikos Achna (loan) | 2016/17 | Cypriot First Division | 27 | 16 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 16 | |||
| Korona Kielce (loan) | 2017–18 | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 7 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 9 | |||
| Anorthosis Famagusta | 2018–19 | Cypriot First Division | 23 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Cypriot First Division | 18 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 6 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Cypriot First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Cypriot First Division | 8 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 63 | 13 | ||||
| Lech Poznań (loan) | 2020–21 | Ekstraklasa | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Jeonnam Dragons | 2022 | K League 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 15 | 3 | ||
| Torpedo Kutaisi | 2023 | Erovnuli Liga | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||||
| Panevėžys | 2023 | A Lyga | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 193 | 67 | 21 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 234 | 80 | |||
Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kacharava goal.[14]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 March 2017 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||
| 2 | 5 September 2020 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C | ||
| 3 | 11 October 2020 | Stadion Miejski, Tychy, Poland | 1–1 | 2-2 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C |
Panevėžys