Mchedlidze making the grade in Italy

One of the most exciting young talents to emerge from Georgia in recent years, US Città di Palermo striker Levan Mchedlidze has already been labelled the 'Georgian Ibrahimović' in Italy and is being tipped to become "a big player" by AC Milan defender and compatriot Kakha Kaladze.

'Desire to progress'
Unlike Kaladze, though, the 19-year-old does not owe his grounding in the game to the old Soviet system. The likes of Levan Kobiashvili, Shota Arveladze and Zurab Khizanishvili all learned the ropes in a different era, but Mchedlidze was born a week before the start of the first independent domestic league and, after being introduced to the game in Georgia, joined Italian club Empoli FC at 14. Despite leaving home at such a young age, he is convinced he made the right choice. "It's very difficult to leave your family but if you want to achieve something, you have to do that," Mchedlidze told uefa.com. "I think we have a lot of gifted players in the country who can be even more successful than me, but what they need are the right conditions to play football and, of course, the desire to progress."

Paternal advice
As the son of Karlo Mchedlidze, a former FC Dinamo Tbilisi goalkeeper who won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, perhaps it ought to be no surprise that Levan developed such an early fervour for the sport. "I've always remembered what my father said," explained the striker, who made his Serie A debut against SSC Napoli last September. "He said that a person who can't manage his psychological problems has only a slim chance of becoming successful." That advice proved especially useful when Mchedlidze underwent two knee operations aged 17, a setback that contributed to his failure to make a single appearance with Empoli. "My father's words helped me a lot during that time."

'Like at home'
The Tbilisi native had nonetheless caught the eye of a number of clubs and after Empoli were relegated from the top flight last May, he signed a year-long loan contract at Palermo, with the club later announcing they had secured his services permanently for €6.2m. "I feel at home there and I'm happy we have a good chance of playing in the UEFA Europe League next season," he added. "The only negative is that I don't play as much as I want to, but I'm sure the situation will change." So far this term, Mchedlidze has contested nine Serie A games and scored one goal – the winner as his side beat Juventus 2-1 last October.

Kaladze praise
The comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimović owe much to the youngster's height, with Mchedlidze standing two centimetres shorter than the FC Internazionale Milano forward at 190cm. He has already made a splash on the international stage too, having been handed a debut at 17 in a UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Italy, before scoring in the 2-0 victory over Scotland in Georgia's next outing. "He is fast and has good technique," Kaladze explained to uefa.com. "Many people dream of playing in the league where he already is. He has everything you need to become a big player."