An in-depth look at the career of our new head coach, Shota Arveladze…
A forward of some repute, Arveladze started his playing career in his native Georgia with hometown club Dinamo Tbilisi, winning four consecutive Umaglesi Liga and Georgian Cup doubles.
His impressive goalscoring form earned him the first of 61 international caps in 1992 and a move to Turkish team Trabzonspor following a productive loan spell.
Scoring 81 goals in four seasons – the most he netted for a single club – Arveladze topped the Super Lig scoring charts in 1995/96 and won the Turkish Cup and Super Cup.
The prolific frontman signed for Ajax in 1997 and notched a career-best 37 goals in 44 appearances during his debut season, helping the Dutch giants win the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup.
Arveladze claimed the KNVB Cup again in 1998/99 and bagged 72 strikes in 124 matches for de Godenzonen before swapping Amsterdam for Glasgow, joining Rangers for £3m in 2001.
Achieving cult hero status during a sparkling four-season stay at Ibrox, he added to his collection of medals with two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup.
After 57 goals in 132 outings, he moved back to the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar and was awarded the captaincy in 2006/07, scoring 48 times for Kaaskoppen.
Arveladze bagged his 26th and final international goal in his last appearance for his country against Scotland in 2007 and remains Georgia’s all-time record scorer.
Later that year, he completed a move to Spanish side Levante but struggled with injury and called time on his illustrious playing career at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.
Over an 18-year club career, Arveladze scored 321 goals in 549 appearances, including 29 in European competition, and was named Georgian Footballer of the Year three times.
Shortly after hanging up his boots, he moved into coaching as assistant manager to Louis van Gaal at AZ and later worked under Ronald Koeman and Dick Advocaat.
He took his first management role with Kayserispor in 2010 and oversaw sixth and 11th-placed Turkish Super Lig finishes before leaving for Kasımpaşa.
Placing sixth two seasons running, he spent five months at Trabzonspor and managed Israeli outfit Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2016/17 season.
His next role came in Uzbekistan with Pakhtakor Tashkent from 2017 to 2020, winning five trophies and reaching the Asian Champions League semi-finals.
A treble was secured in 2019 followed by a double in 2020, comprising two Uzbekistan Super League titles, two Uzbekistan Cups and an Uzbekistan League Cup.
Posting a win percentage of 72.6%, he won 90 of his 124 matches during a glittering three-year spell, the 289 goals scored averaging out at 2.3 goals per game.
In total, Arveladze has managed 346 games with five different clubs, his overall record reading 178 wins, 72 draws and 96 defeats.