MIKHAEL KAVELASHVILI

Born: 22/7 1971 Height: 5`11" (182cm) Weight: 12st. 01lb (76kg) Nation: Georgia 19/? Pos: Striker Record: Year Club Games Goals 89-95 Dynamo Tblisi 95-96 Spartak Vladikavkaz 95-96 Manchester City 4 1 96-97 Manchester City 24 2 97-98 Grasshoppers (loan) ? 4 Total 28 7

He is Georgian, but played last year(two?) for Spartak (Vladikavkaz), Osetian team. Kavelashvili is very skilled technically, as most good Georgian players. However, he is not fast and he has no strong shoot. Kavelashvili scored several beautiful goals in previous championship. This player is enough tough in struggle and sometimes very rough. If I remember correctly he received one or two red cards for these resons in the previous season. Sometimes he looks like wonder-worker (unless he is being attacked by defenders). I watched him carefully in four games: two against Spartak M and two against Lokomotiv M. Against Lokomotiv he looked insipid. Against Spatrak M, especially in the former game,- very good. Lokomotiv played from defense (and won both games 1:0 and 4:1), Spartak tried to attack ( and lost the fist game 1:2, the second 1:1). It should be remarked that usually Kavelashvili plays nice football against weak teams, and teams with weak defence.

Kavelashvili has also played for Dinamo Tbilisi, a somewhat more reputated team (two USSR Championships, four USSR domestic cups, and above all an European Cup-winners' Cup in 1981.)

Kavelashvili only played 24 games for City in the 96-97 season, and because he didn't play 75% of the games he was not given a new work permit, Kavelashvili accepted to go on loan to Grasshoppers Zurich, who will pay City £50.000, plus the players wages. If he can retain his place in the national team, he may be able to play for City again in the 1998-99 season. The alternative would be that he was released from his contract. After his loan period ends, Grasshoppers has the option to buy him for £700.000.

Although Grasshoppers didn't take advantage of the offer to buy Michael, he remains on loan to the Swiss club, which became League Champions in 1997/98, and will play Champions League this season. Mikhael has had a good pre-season build up, scoring two goals in a friendly against the Nigerian nationals team in May, one against Baden in June and two against Tottenham Hotspur in July. He also got to play in some of Georgias World Cup qualifiers.