Levan Kenia (Georgian: ლევან ყენია; born 18 October 1990) is a Georgian professional football manager and former player who most recently was the head coach of Oberliga club KFC Uerdingen.
 Kenia with Schalke 04 in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 October 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| 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) |
| 2014–2017 | Slavia Prague | 31 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | Lokomotivi Tbilisi | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | F91 Dudelange | 11 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Saburtalo | 9 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | KFC Uerdingen | 57 | (6) |
| Total | 174 | (17) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Georgia U-17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Georgia U-19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2008–2012 | Georgia U-21 | 5 | (1) |
| 2007–2016 | Georgia | 29 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2024 | KFC Uerdingen | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editKenia 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]
In the summer of 2018, he joined a Luxembourgian club Dudelange.[7]
International career
editKenia made his debut for the national team on 8 September 2007 against Ukraine, replacing Alexander Iashvili.[8] Georgia's former head coach Klaus Toppmöller said he had never before seen a player of his age with such accomplished technical abilities.[9] 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.[10] Toppmöller praised Kenia, "Kenia was one of the best on the pitch."[11]
He scored his first international goal on 27 May 2008 against Estonia.[12]
Coaching career
editIn 2021 he joined German Regionalliga club KFC Uerdingen as playing assistant.[13] Following the sacking of Marcus John in February 2024, Kenia was made new playing manager of the team.[14] In March 2024, he retired from playing to become to manager of the team.[15]
Personal life
editLevan is also the nephew of former SC Freiburg midfielder Georgi Kiknadze.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 25 July 2014
| 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 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | |
| 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 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Karpaty Lviv | 2012–13 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2013–14 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Career total | 61 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 9 | |
International
edit- As of match played 27 May 2016[16]
- Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kenia goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 May 2008 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 9 |  Estonia |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 20 August 2008 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales | 11 |  Wales |
1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 6 September 2008 | Stadion am Bruchweg, Mainz, Germany | 12 |  Republic of Ireland |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 27 May 2016 | ASKÖ Stadion, Wels, Austria | 27 |  Slovakia |
1–3 | 1–3 | Friendly |
References
edit- ^ "Levan Kenia Signs With Schalke 04". Geofootball. 6 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "Schalke 04 1 – 1 Apoel Nicosia". ESPN. 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "Magath: Sein erster Härtetest" (in German). kicker.de. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Knappen landen wichtigen 2:0-Arbeitssieg gegen den Karlsruher SC" (in German). FC Schalke 04. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009.
- ^ "Levan Kenia kommt zur Fortuna" (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf.
- ^ "Levan Kenia und Fortuna Düsseldorf gehen getrennte Wege" (in German). derwesten.de. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Kenia profile by F81" (in French). Dudelange. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Georgia 1-1 Ukraine". Sky Sports. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "ISP Exclusive: World's Top 30 Young Talents". Iran Sports Press. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Clive Lindsay (17 October 2007). "Georgia 2-0 Scotland". BBC. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "Schalke capture Georgian wunderkind". UEFA.com. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Lasha Chankvetadze (30 May 2008). "Estonia 1-1 Georgia". Geofootball.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ "Verstärkung für den Trainerstab des KFC" (in German). KFC Uerdingen 05. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Trennung von Marcus John" (in German). KFC Uerdingen 05. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Levan Kenia hängt Fußball-Schuhe an den Nagel". FuPa (in German). 2 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "L. Kenia". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
External links
edit- Lavan Kenia at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- Levan Kenia – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Levan Kenia at Soccerway