All happy parents are alike. They love to indulge in dreams of what their child will become when they grow up. So when the father of today’s hero first saw his three-day-old infant, he reportedly noticed his son’s bow legs and thought: he will make a good footballer. And despite the fact that such prophecies usually go no further than wishful thinking, Georgi Kinkladze’s father was entirely right. His son became a generational talent and one of the most brilliant players in Georgian history, while his dribbling remains the stuff of legend in 1990s football.
On July 15, Manchester City posted a photo of Georgi Kinkladze on its Instagram page. On that day 31 years ago, the Georgian footballer joined the club. Though he played there for only three years, he was named Player of the Year twice. Fans organized “Georgi Kinkladze Days,” dubbed him the “Wizard of Maine Road,” and begged him to stay.
Georgi Kinkladze was born in Tbilisi in 1973, and his love for football began as soon as he learned to stand. His father would roll a ball toward him, which little Gio stopped with his left foot. When the boy was four years old, his father took him to a legendary match between Dinamo Tbilisi and Inter Milan, who met in the Georgian capital in the UEFA Cup. Little Gio sat on his dad’s shoulders and, every time an attack on goal started, kicked his father so hard with his feet that by the end of the match, the man felt thoroughly bruised.
The signs were clearly there, and his father, Robinson, began training Georgi. Every morning he prepared fresh fruit and vegetable juices for his son and took him out of the city whenever possible, continuing workouts at the seaside and in the mountains. The boy even walked up to their seventh-floor apartment on foot, always bouncing or juggling a ball that he was forbidden to carry in his hands. Georgi took Georgian folk dancing lessons to improve his coordination and played volleyball. He could have succeeded in any sport—they say he was good at everything he tried—but Georgi Kinkladze dreamed only of football.
At age six, Robinson brought his son to “Young Dinamo.” Coach Avtandil Kheladze unenthusiastically put the boy on the pitch only as a favor to a friend. But upon seeing the youngster’s ball control, the stunned coach exclaimed that any child capable of handling the ball like that automatically earned a spot in their academy.
Kinkladze made his senior football debut for Mretebi Tbilisi—the first official private club in the late Soviet era. His performances there were so breathtaking that half the city would turn out to watch him. But in the early 1990s, Georgia turned into a dangerous conflict zone, and young stars were essentially rescued by being sent abroad.
Thus began Kinkladze’s extraordinary wanderings. First came a loan spell at Germany’s Saarbrücken, fraught with adaptation difficulties. Then came a trial at Real Madrid, where he trained alongside a young Raúl. And then came pure madness: Georgi caught the eye of scouts from Argentina’s Boca Juniors!
In Buenos Aires, the young Georgian met his idol, Diego Maradona. The legendary Argentine was reportedly so impressed by Georgi’s technique that he invited him to lunch and even tried to secure him a spot at the local club. However, it was not meant to be.
Upon returning home, Kinkladze produced a phenomenal season for Dinamo, scoring 16 goals in 24 matches. European giants like AC Milan took notice, but the turning point was a match for the Georgian national team against Wales. Georgi dismantled the Welsh side, and his exquisite 20-yard chip in Cardiff had the entire Premier League scrambling for his signature.
Manchester City chairman Francis Lee acted fastest. After watching a videotape of Kinkladze’s highlights, he flew to Zurich under the utmost secrecy and purchased his contract for £2 million.
And so, in the summer of 1995, the era of the “Wizard of Maine Road” began. In his very first season, Kinkladze drove England wild, dribbling past five players at a time and scoring masterpieces against Southampton and Middlesbrough. Yet City was mired in a deep crisis and was relegated from the Premier League.
A queue of suitors—including Barcelona, Liverpool, and Celtic—lined up for Kinkladze. But something incredible happened: out of loyalty to the fans, who practically idolized him and pitched tents outside his house begging him to stay, Georgi turned down the giants and agreed to play in the second tier!
There, he faced a harsh reception: opponents double-teamed him, hacked him down, and fouled him openly, while referees turned a blind eye. City went through a relentless succession of managers as the club sank deeper. New manager Joe Royle decided the team had an “unhealthy reliance” on Kinkladze and increasingly left the maestro on the bench.
In 1998, City were relegated further into the third tier of English football, and Kinkladze was sold to Ajax Amsterdam. In his final match for the Cityzens against Stoke City, Georgi came on as a substitute to a standing ovation from 7,000 traveling fans; after the final whistle, he threw his boots into the stands and left the pitch in tears.
He never got to play for an elite powerhouse at his peak, but for Manchester City supporters, Georgi Kinkladze will forever remain the ultimate beacon of light during their darkest times. Fans still remember his loyalty, which went far beyond a mere contract.