Levan Kenia

Levan Kenia
ლევან ყენია
Personal information
Full name Levan Kenia
Date of birth (1990-10-18) 18 October 1990
Place of birth Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Slavia Prague
Number 11
Youth career
2004–2005 Dinamo Tbilisi
2005–2007 Lokomotivi Tbilisi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Lokomotivi Tbilisi 19 (4)
2008 Schalke 04 II 2 (0)
2009–2012 Schalke 04 11 (0)
2012–2013 Karpaty Lviv 20 (3)
2013–2014 Fortuna Düsseldorf 11 (0)
2014– Slavia Prague 31 (3)
National team
2006 Georgia U-17 2 (0)
2007–2008 Georgia U-19 5 (0)
2008–2012 Georgia U-21 5 (1)
2007– Georgia 27 (4)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 August 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 May 2016

Levan Kenia (Georgian: ლევან ყენია; born 18 October 1990) is a Georgian footballer who currently plays for Czech team Slavia Prague.

Club career

He joined Schalke 04 from Lokomotivi Tbilisi in January 2008, signing a contract with the club that ran until June 2012[1] Kenia made his debut for Schalke 04 against APOEL F.C. in a UEFA Cup match on 2 October 2008 coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for Gerald Asamoah.[2] Formerly, Kenia trained for two weeks at the age of 14 with FC Barcelona.[3]

On 11 April 2009, Kenia made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke in a match against Karlsruher SC.[4]

On 14 August 2012, Kenia joined Ukrainian Premier League side FC Karpaty Lviv on a two-year contract. After spending one year in Ukraine, Kenia returned to Germany and signed a contract with Fortuna Düsseldorf for two years.[5]

At Düsseldorf however he could never fulfill the expectations. Signed as the playmaker, he played only eleven games during the 2013-14 season. In the second half of the campaign he even earned just a single cap playing four minutes. On 1 July 2014, according to previous rumors, it was announced that his contract was dissolved.[6]

International career

He made his debut for the national team on 8 September 2007 against Ukraine, replacing Alexander Iashvili.[7] Georgia's former head coach Klaus Toppmöller said he had never before seen a player of his age with such accomplished technical abilities.[8] Kenia, along with fellow teenagers Levan Mchedlidze and Giorgi Makaridze, played in their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign starring in a 2–0 victory over Scotland.[9] Toppmöller praised Kenia, "Kenia was one of the best on the pitch."[10]

He scored his first international goal on 27 May 2008 against Estonia.[11]

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lokomotivi Tbilisi 2005-06 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2006-07 11 3 0 0 0 0 11 3
2007-08 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 1
Total 1940000194
Schalke 04 2008-09 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
2009-10 10 0 2 1 0 0 12 1
2010-11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011-12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1102110141
Karpaty Lviv 2012-13 20 3 2 1 0 0 22 4
Total 2032100224
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2013-14 11 0 1 0 0 0 12 0
Total 1101000120
Career total 6175210679
(Last edit: 25 July 2014)

International goals

As of match played 27 May 2016. Georgia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kenia goal.[12]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 May 2008A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia9 Estonia1–11–1Friendly
2 20 August 2008Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales11 Wales1–12–1Friendly
3 6 September 2008Stadion am Bruchweg, Mainz, Germany12 Republic of Ireland1–21–22010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 27 May 2016ASKÖ Stadion, Wels, Austria27 Slovakia1–31–3Friendly

Personal

Levan is also the nephew of former SC Freiburg midfielder Georgi Kiknadze.

References

  1. "Levan Kenia Signs With Schalke 04". Geofootball. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  2. "Schalke 04 1 – 1 Apoel Nicosia". ESPN. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  3. "Magath: Sein erster Härtetest" (in German). kicker.de. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  4. "Knappen landen wichtigen 2:0-Arbeitssieg gegen den Karlsruher SC" (in German). FC Schalke 04. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009.
  5. "Levan Kenia kommt zur Fortuna" (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf.
  6. "Levan Kenia und Fortuna Düsseldorf gehen getrennte Wege" (in German). derwesten.de. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  7. "Georgia 1-1 Ukraine". Sky Sports. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  8. "ISP Exclusive: World's Top 30 Young Talents". Iran Sports Press. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  9. Clive Lindsay (17 October 2007). "Georgia 2-0 Scotland". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  10. "Schalke capture Georgian wunderkind". UEFA.com. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  11. Lasha Chankvetadze (30 May 2008). "Estonia 1-1 Georgia". Geofootball.com. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  12. "L. Kenia". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
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