| Otar Kiteishvili | |
| Birth Date: | 26 March 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Rustavi, Georgia |
| Height: | 1.73 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Sturm Graz |
| Clubnumber: | 10 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| Years1: | 2013–2018 |
| Clubs1: | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| Caps1: | 98 |
| Goals1: | 17 |
| Years2: | 2014 |
| Clubs2: | → Metalurgi Rustavi (loan) |
| Caps2: | 17 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2018– |
| Clubs3: | Sturm Graz |
| Caps3: | 150 |
| Goals3: | 34 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2014–2015 |
| Nationalteam1: | Georgia U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 3 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalteam2: | Georgia U21 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 5 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2017– |
| Nationalteam3: | Georgia |
| Nationalcaps3: | 39 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 21 August 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 30 June 2024 |
Otar Kiteishvili (Georgian: ოთარ კიტეიშვილი; born 26 March 1996) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz and the Georgia national team.
A product of Dinamo Tbilisi academy, Kiteishvili has won four titles at the club. He is also the two-time winner of the Austrian Cup. Individually, Kiteishvili has been twice named as Best Young Player in Georgia. In May 2024, the Austrian Bundesliga officials selected him Player of the Season.
Kiteishvili began his career in Dinamo Tbilisi. In April 2014, he was sent on loan to League rivals Metalurgi Rustavi. He made his debut on 7 May in the eighth matchday of the Umaglesi Liga championship round against Sioni Bolnisi, netting his side's second goal after coming on as a substitute for Kakhaber Kakashvili in a 2–0 home win.[1]
In the winter break of the 2014–15 season, he returned to Dinamo Tbilisi. After playing 14 games for Rustavi in the top Georgian league in the first half of the season, he played as many games for Dinamo after his return.[2] Kiteishvili scored his first league goal for the club on 3 October 2015, which proved to be the match-winner in a 1–0 home win over Dinamo Batumi.[3]
Kiteishvili won the best Georgian young player's award twice in a row in 2015 and 2016.[4] Besides, the Football Federation named him in a symbolic team of the 2017 season.[5]
Being now Dinamo's captain at age 22, he was also recognized as the best player of part II in the 2018 Erovnuli Liga season.[6]
Kiteishvili made 98 league appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi, in which he scored 17 goals.
On 31 July 2018, Kiteishvili moved to Sturm Graz in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, where he signed a four-year contract,[7] later extended until the summer of 2024.[8] He made his debut on 12 August in the third matchday of the domestic league against SKN St. Pölten, coming on as a substitute in the 68th minute for Lukas Grozurek of a 2–0 away loss.[9] On 2 December, Kiteishvili scored his first goal for Sturm Graz to secure the 3–0 final score in a victory against Wolfsberger AC.[10] [11]
Оn 30 April 2023, he won the first trophy with this club following a 2–0 Cup victory over Rapid Wien.[12]
He won the Cup for a second time on 1 May 2024, following another victory over Rapid Vienna, this time 2–1. He provided the assist for the winning goal.[13] At the end of this season, which was most prolific during his six-year tenure at Sturm, Kiteishvili was voted Player of the Season by presidents, managers and coaches of the Bundesliga clubs.[14]
Kiteishvili has a younger brother, Paata, who has spent most of his career at Rustavi.
Married to Ela Zarnadze, Otar has a daughter, Livia, born in December 2021.[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Metalurgi (loan) | 2013–14 | Umaglesi Liga | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 | |||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2014–15 | Umaglesi Liga | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 4 | |||
| 2016 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | – | 23 | 6 | ||||
| 2017 | Erovnuli Liga | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 1 | ||||
| 2018 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 21 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 98 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 126 | 23 | |||
| 2018–19 | Austrian Bundesliga | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 4 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 31 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 37 | 7 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 7 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 20 | 4 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 29 | 7 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 1 | – | 40 | 11 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 150 | 34 | 16 | 3 | 22 | 4 | – | 188 | 41 | ||||
| Career total | 265 | 52 | 35 | 8 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 333 | 65 | |||
Kiteishvili made his debut for the Georgia national football team on 23 January 2017 in a friendly against Uzbekistan.[17]
Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first.|-!scope=row|| 9 June 2022 || Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia || || align=center | 3–0 || align=center | 3–0 || 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C|-!scope=row|| 15 October 2023 || Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia || || align=center | 1–0 || align=center | 4–0 || UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying|-!scope=row|| 9 June 2024 || Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro || || align=center | 1–0 || align=center | 3–1 || Friendly|}
Dinamo Tbilisi
Sturm Graz
Individual