| Nika Kvekveskiri | |
| Full Name: | Nikoloz Kvekveskiri |
| Birth Date: | 1992 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Zugdidi, Georgia |
| Height: | 1.86 m |
| Position: | Defensive midfielder |
| Youthclubs1: | Baia Zugdidi |
| Years1: | 2009–2010 |
| Clubs1: | Baia Zugdidi |
| Caps1: | 36 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2011–2014 |
| Clubs2: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| Caps2: | 58 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Years3: | 2012–2014 |
| Clubs3: | Dinamo Tbilisi II |
| Caps3: | 28 |
| Goals3: | 13 |
| Years4: | 2013 |
| Clubs4: | → Tskhinvali (loan) |
| Caps4: | 11 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs5: | Dila Gori |
| Caps5: | 27 |
| Goals5: | 7 |
| Years6: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs6: | Inter Baku |
| Caps6: | 29 |
| Goals6: | 4 |
| Years7: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs7: | Gabala |
| Caps7: | 14 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2017–2020 |
| Clubs8: | Tobol |
| Caps8: | 75 |
| Goals8: | 5 |
| Years9: | 2021–2024 |
| Clubs9: | Lech Poznań |
| Caps9: | 91 |
| Goals9: | 5 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2008–2009 |
| Nationalteam1: | Georgia U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2009–2011 |
| Nationalteam2: | Georgia U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2009–2014 |
| Nationalteam3: | Georgia U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 20 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 2 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2015– |
| Nationalteam4: | Georgia |
| Nationalcaps4: | 61 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 09:21, 29 May 2024 (UTC). |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23:25, 30 June 2024 (UTC). |
Nikoloz "Nika" Kvekveskiri (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ "ნიკა" კვეკვესკირი|tr, in Georgian pronounced as /nikʼoloz nikʼa kʼʷekʼʷeskʼiɾi/, Polish: Nikoloz „Nika” Kwekweskiri|italic=no; born 29 May 1992), nicknamed Kvekve,[1] is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for the Georgia national team.
The family of Kvekveskiri comes from the Gali district of Abkhazia. They had to flee the 1992–93 war and move to a refugee settlement in Zugdidi, where Nika grew up under tough living conditions.[2]
He has played in four countries and won champion's titles three times.
Kvekvesriki was regularly called up to national youth teams. Currently he is the vice-captain of Georgia national team.[3]
Kvekveskiri started his career in the local club Baia Zugdidi. He made his debut for the first team on 15 August 2009 in a match against FC Locomotive Tbilisi.[4] His first top-league goal scored against Kolkheti 1913 turned out a hard-fought winner on 29 September 2010.[5]
The next year, Kvekveskiri joined Georgian champions Dinamo Tbilisi. During the initial year-and-a-half period he made fifty league appearances for the team and won the double. On 30 June 2011, Kvekveskiri scored his first European goal in a UEFA Europa League 2–0 win over Milsami.[6]
In 2013, he was on loan to Tskhinvali for a half season and in June 2014 he was sold to Dila Gori. With seven league goals netted this year for Dila, Kvekveskiri was a key member of this title-winning team.
Following this season, in 2015 he moved to Azerbaijani Inter Baku. In June 2016, he joined Gabala.[7]
In May 2017, Kvekvesikiri signed a two-year deal with Tobol.[8] On 20 January 2021, Tobol announced that he had left the club.[9]
In January 2021, he moved to Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań till the end of the 2020–21 season.[10] He signed a two-year extension on 29 April 2021,[1] renewed next October until 30 June 2025.[11] On 10 July 2024, he left the club by mutual consent. During his three-and-a-half-year stay, Kvekveskiri made a total of 123 appearances across all competitions, recording six goals and six assists.[12] He contributed to the club's eighth league title in 2022,[13] as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League the following year.[14]
With twenty appearances made for U21s, Kvekveskiri is the most capped Georgian player.[15]
Kvekveskiri made his international debut for the senior team on 8 October 2015 in a 4–0 win against Gibraltar for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.[16]
He was a regular member of the team that produced an eleven-game unbeaten record between October 2021 and November 2022.[17]
On 26 March 2024, Kvekveskiri scored the winning penalty against Greece to send Georgia to the UEFA Euro 2024, their first international tournament in history.[18] In May 2024, he was selected in the team's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[19] He made his sole appearance at the tournament as a second-half substitute in a 1–4 loss to Spain in the round of 16.[20]
Kvekveskiri is married to Salome Bebua, also a refugee from Abkhazia. The couple raises two daughters.[21]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Baia Zugdidi | 2009–10 | Umaglesi Liga | 22 | 0 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| 2010–11 | Umaglesi Liga | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 41 | 4 | |||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2010–11 | Umaglesi Liga | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Umaglesi Liga | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 42 | 3 | |||
| 2012–13 | Umaglesi Liga | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | Umaglesi Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 68 | 3 | ||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi-2 | 2012–13 | Pirveli Liga | 17 | 10 | — | — | — | 17 | 10 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Pirveli Liga | 11 | 3 | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 28 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 13 | |||
| Tskhinvali (loan) | 2013–14 | Umaglesi Liga | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| Dila Gori | 2014–15 | Umaglesi Liga | 27 | 7 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 7 | |||
| Inter Baku | 2015–16 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 38 | 7 | ||
| Gabala | 2016–17 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| Tobol | 2017 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| 2019 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2020 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 84 | 5 | ||||
| Lech Poznań | 2020–21[23] | Ekstraklasa | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22[24] | Ekstraklasa | 29 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23[25] | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 3 | ||
| 2023–24[26] | Ekstraklasa | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 91 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 123 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 369 | 38 | 37 | 4 | 50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 458 | 47 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 61 | 0 | ||
Dinamo Tbilisi
Dila Gori
Lech Poznań