Malkhaz Asatiani

Malkhaz Asatiani (მალხაზ ასათიანი; born 4 August 1981) is a Georgian former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Club career
His club career started in Torpedo Kutaisi. During his stay of three and a half years the team won the Georgian league title three years in a row. He then earned a transfer to Russian team Lokomotiv Moscow. He plays mostly as a defender at the club and mostly as a midfielder in the national team.

On 3 December. Asatiani told the Russian newspaper, Sport-Express, that he will be leaving Lokomotiv in the end of 2010 on a free transfer. On 21 December such departure was made official.

In August 2008, Asatiani was bought on a half-year loan by Dynamo Kyiv.

International career
For the National Team, Malkhaz has played 18 international matches and scored 4 goals since his debut in 2001. One of the goals came against rivals Russia in a Euro 2004 qualifying match, something for which Asatiani received praise. He also scored important goals in the 2006 World Cup qualifying phase.

Style of play and reception
Asatiani had been attacking midfielder in his early professional career at Torpedo Kutaisi before Lokomotiv Moscow's manager Yuri Syomin converted him into a ball-playing center-back due to his physique and the ability to recover possession and accurately pass the ball over long distances. When playing as a defender, he was also allowed to go up the pitch to participate in the attacking play and, at times, started games in his original role of a midfielder or even as a forward. His passing, dribbling, technical skills and an eye for decisive goals made him a versatile and valuable player for both the club and the national team. Despite his talent, he was unable to continue his career as a player past the age of 29 due to recurring injuries.

In the 2024 interview, former long-term Lokomotiv Moscow manager Yuri Syomin named Asatiani one of the best defenders in the Russian Premier League during the 2000s as well as one of the most disciplined foreign players in Moscow-based clubs.

Honours
Torpedo Kutaisi
 * Georgian League (3): 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
 * Georgian Cup (1): 2000–01

Lokomotiv Moscow
 * Russian League (1): 2004
 * Russian Cup (1): 2006–07
 * Russian Super Cup (2): 2003, 2005
 * Commonwealth of Independent States Cup (1): 2005

Dynamo Kyiv
 * Ukrainian League (1): 2008–09