Budu Zivzivadze facts for kids
Zivzivadze in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Kutaisi, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Heidenheim | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2011 | School No. 35 Tbilisi | ||
| 2011–2012 | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | → Dinamo-2 Tbilisi | 50 | (47) |
| 2015 | Torpedo Kutaisi | 8 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Samtredia | 44 | (29) |
| 2017–2019 | Esbjerg | 13 | (1) |
| 2018 | → Dinamo Tbilisi (loan) | 35 | (22) |
| 2019 | Torpedo Kutaisi | 20 | (13) |
| 2019–2020 | Mezőkövesd | 32 | (8) |
| 2020–2023 | Fehérvár | 53 | (12) |
| 2022 | → Újpest (loan) | 12 | (11) |
| 2023–2024 | Karlsruher SC | 57 | (25) |
| 2025– | Heidenheim | 17 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Georgia U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2013 | Georgia U19 | 9 | (2) |
| 2014–2016 | Georgia U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017– | Georgia | 36 | (8) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2025 |
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Budu Zivzivadze is a professional footballer from Georgia. He plays as a striker, which means he is a forward player who focuses on scoring goals. Budu currently plays for the Bundesliga club Heidenheim and is also a key player for the Georgian national team.
He won the Umaglesi Liga (Georgia's top football league) and the Georgian Super Cup. In 2016, he was even named the best Georgian Player of the Year. He also received the Order of Honor, a special award in Georgia.
Contents
About Budu Zivzivadze
Budu Zivzivadze was born on March 10, 1994, in Kutaisi, Georgia. His parents are Kakha Zivzivadze and Rusudan Gegeshidze. He has an older sister. Budu was named after his grandfather.
When he was a child, Budu took classes in chess and dancing. But soon, football became his main passion.
Budu's Football Journey
Starting in Youth Football
When Budu was 8 years old, he joined the Imedi football school in Kutaisi. For his first two years, he played as a midfielder, helping his team control the middle of the field.
In 2011, he moved to Dinamo Tbilisi, a well-known club in Georgia. For four seasons, he mostly played for their reserve team, called Dinamo-2 Tbilisi. This team played in the Pirveli Liga, which is Georgia's second-highest football league. In the 2013–14 season, Budu was the top scorer for Dinamo-2, scoring 23 goals in 21 matches! He made his first professional appearance for the main Dinamo Tbilisi team on September 11, 2014.
Playing for Top Clubs
In 2015, Budu joined Samtredia, a team in Georgia's top league. He quickly showed how good he was at scoring goals. He helped Samtredia win their first-ever league championship title. Because of his amazing performance, he was named the best player of the 2016 season.
In January 2017, Budu signed with Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB in Denmark. He didn't play much there at first. So, in 2018, he went back to Dinamo Tbilisi on loan. He had a fantastic season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions! He even shared the top scorer award in the Erovnuli Liga (Georgia's top league) and was chosen for the league's "team of the season." After his loan, he left Esbjerg for good in January 2019.
Just two days later, he joined Torpedo Kutaisi. Budu continued his great form, scoring eight goals in nine games. The league named him the best player for that part of the season. However, Torpedo Kutaisi had money problems, so Budu's time there lasted only six months.
In July 2019, he moved to Hungary to play for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Mezőkövesd.
Moving to Germany
On January 31, 2023, Budu signed with 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC in Germany. His contract was set to last until 2025.
During his second season at Karlsruher, Budu scored 12 goals in 30 league matches. He was the team's second-highest scorer. In the 2024–25 season, he did even better, scoring 12 goals in just 17 games. This made him the top scorer in the league halfway through the season!
On January 3, 2025, Budu made a big move to Bundesliga club Heidenheim on a four-year deal. He scored his first goal for Heidenheim on March 9, in a 1–1 draw against Hoffenheim.
Playing for Georgia
National Team Debut
Budu Zivzivadze played his first game for the Georgian national team in a friendly match against Uzbekistan on January 23, 2017.
He scored his first goal for Georgia on March 25, 2022. It was the only goal in a 1–0 friendly win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Euro 2024 Success
On March 21, 2024, Budu scored two very important goals in a 2–0 win against Luxembourg. This game was part of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. His goals helped the Georgian team reach the European Championship for the first time ever! He was part of the team for Euro 2024 and played in two matches during the tournament.
Budu's Family Life
Budu Zivzivadze is married to Nini Kvernadze. They have a daughter who was born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic, Budu couldn't see his daughter until she was six months old.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Tbilisi B | 2012–13 | Pirveli Liga | 19 | 14 | ― | — | — | 19 | 14 | |||
| 2013–14 | Pirveli Liga | 21 | 23 | ― | — | — | 21 | 23 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Pirveli Liga | 10 | 10 | ― | — | — | 10 | 10 | ||||
| Total | 50 | 47 | ― | — | — | 50 | 47 | |||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2014–15 | Umaglesi Liga | 1 | 0 | ― | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Torpedo Kutaisi | 2014–15 | Umaglesi Liga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Samtredia | 2015–16 | Umaglesi Liga | 29 | 16 | 5 | 2 | ― | — | 34 | 18 | ||
| 2016 | Umaglesi Liga | 14 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | 15 | ||
| Total | 43 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ― | 52 | 33 | |||
| Esbjierg | 2016–17 | Danish Superliga | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ― | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | Danish 1st Division | 4 | 0 | ― | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ― | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi (loan) | 2018 | Erovnuli Liga | 35 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 40 | 28 | |
| Torpedo Kutaisi | 2019 | Erovnuli Liga | 20 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 22 | 13 | |
| Mezőkövesd | 2019–20 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 32 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | — | 38 | 10 | ||
| Fehérvár | 2020–21 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 31 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 38 | 11 | |
| 2021–22 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 12 | 2 | ― | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 10 | 1 | ― | 6 | 6 | — | 16 | 7 | |||
| Total | 53 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 6 | — | 68 | 21 | |||
| Újpest (loan) | 2021–22 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 11 | ||
| Karlsruher SC | 2022–23 | 2.Bundesliga | 10 | 1 | ― | ― | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | 2.Bundesliga | 30 | 12 | 1 | 0 | ― | — | 31 | 12 | |||
| 2024–25 | 2.Bundesliga | 18 | 12 | 2 | 2 | ― | — | 20 | 14 | |||
| Total | 58 | 25 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 61 | 27 | ||||
| Heidenheim | 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 15 | 2 | ― | 2 | 0 | ― | 17 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 338 | 169 | 30 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 386 | 193 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 8 | |
- Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zivzivadze goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 2022 | Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 5 June 2022 | Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad, Bulgaria |  Bulgaria |
3–1 | 5–2 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C | |
| 3 | 9 June 2022 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia |  Macedonia |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C | |
| 4 | 25 March 2023 | Adjarabet Arena, Batumi, Georgia |  Mongolia |
6–1 | 6–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 12 September 2023 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2024 UEFA Euro qualifiers | |
| 6 | 21 March 2024 | Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia |  Luxembourg |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs | |
| 7 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 9 June 2024 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro |
3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
Awards and Achievements
Budu Zivzivadze has won several awards and titles throughout his career:
With Samtredia
- Umaglesi Liga: 2016 (Georgia's top football league)
With Torpedo Kutaisi
- Georgian Super Cup: 2019 (a special match between league and cup winners)
Individual Awards
- Player of the Year in Georgia: 2016
- Erovnuli Liga top scorer: 2016, 2018 (he shared this award in 2018)
- Order of Honor: 2024 (a high award in Georgia)
See also
In Spanish: Budu Zivzivadze para niños
