Reinforcements for the London regiment?
Admittedly, he has plenty to choose from. Tbilisi is also a very nice city, located on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. Milan, where Kakha spent four and a half years of his career, is at least not inferior to Kyiv and Tbilisi. And as for London, where Kaladze is going, there is nothing to say. Yes, yes, London, because Kakha has been asserting for quite some time, at almost every turn, that the contract with Chelsea is almost settled, that he is leaving Milan, and he very much regrets it (despite the fact that the contract is valid until the summer of 2006).
Naturally, only echoes of the activity that the Georgian footballer is showing in Italy reach us. But one can imagine how insistently he is convincing everyone that he will definitely start the next season in the blue kit of Roman Abramovich's team. If we recall the beginning of 2000, when Kakha with similar persistence claimed that he was leaving Kyiv's Dynamo and moving to Milan, we can assume that the Londoners will have one more player from the former USSR in their ranks.
Kaladze's possible transfer to Chelsea (a little earlier he claimed that Juventus and Bayern Munich were also interested in his person) makes us think about what his chances are of securing a place in the squad of the English champions. On the left flank of defense in the past season, England international Wayne Bridge initially played, and after the Brit's injury, this zone was covered by a representative of the French national team - nominally a central defender, William Gallas. Both remain at Chelsea. In addition, the Pensioners' management is negotiating with another master of the left flank - Englishman Ashley Cole (and doing so not according to the rules, for which it was fined). With Kaladze's arrival, the number of contenders for the left-back position will increase even more. Is it worth going to London for such fierce competition?
However, if Kakha has got something into his head, he will definitely achieve it. In the life of this macho, there was only one episode in which he was completely powerless. About three years ago, criminals kidnapped the footballer's own brother, Levan, and demanded a ransom of about $600,000. Despite the participation of senior Georgian police officials in the case, the search was unsuccessful. And in early May, news agencies announced that in one of the burials discovered on the territory of Georgia, they had possibly found the body of Levan Kaladze. This information has not been confirmed, but three years is a sufficiently long period for the hope of seeing the kidnapped man alive to be very strong.
Kakha himself said that he knows who kidnapped his brother: "Many former and current high-ranking officials, including those from the government, are involved in this kidnapping. I think that very soon everyone will know about the organizers of this kidnapping and those people who hindered the investigation in every possible way." According to Kaladze, he intends to meet with President Mikheil Saakashvili and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili and ask them to restore legality.
Kakha himself has apparently already come to terms with the idea that his brother cannot be brought back. It is hardly likely that the kidnappers would have spent three years dealing with Levan, hoping to get the ransom with impunity. To take revenge on them is the sacred duty of any highlander. But life goes on...
Not by football alone
Kaladze's own career, which is not limited to football alone, also continues. In Milan, he entered the circle of acquaintances of the famous couturier Giorgio Armani and even took part in a fashion show. In October of last year, he launched the Ukrainian version of the well-known European magazine "Max", becoming, according to available information, its main publisher (together with the Ukrainian publishing house "Avtotsentr"). In Germany and Italy, where this publication already appears, "Max" is considered one of the most vigorous magazines on the market about a life sweetened by glamour, famous girls, and their men of the new millennium. The head of the project and editor-in-chief of the magazine is Valery Polyakov, a man with many successful glossy projects behind him.
Last year, the German edition of the magazine received the Lead Awards prize as the best magazine in the Lifestyle category. In Ukraine, "Max" actually opens up a segment of the same name, being the first "lifestyle" magazine addressed to middle-aged men and women. The magazine "Max" is founded and published by the largest Italian publishing house Rizzoli, which publishes dozens of magazines and newspapers, including such brands as La Gazetta dello Sport and Corrierе della Sera.
The road to Milan
However, Kaladze made a name for himself on the football field. At the age of 11, he played for the children's team of "Lokomotiv" from his native city of Samtredia, and three years later he made his debut for Tbilisi's "Dinamo". In his first match, he came on as a substitute and even managed to score the winning goal. At the age of 18, he first put on the jersey of the Georgian national team, of which he is now captain, and in a match against the Italians he attracted the attention of representatives of Kyiv's "Dinamo", where he developed into a European-class defender. And then came "Milan".
By the way, in the winter of 98/99, when the Kyivans were preparing for Champions League matches against Real Madrid, "Dinamo" played a friendly match with "Milan". After which Kakha spoke enthusiastically about the "red-blacks": "The meeting with Milan was not so much another test of our strength as an opportunity to gain invaluable experience. The Milan side is full of stars - Bierhoff, Weah, Costacurta, Maldini. By the way, the latter is my idol. I am glad that my goal turned out to be the winning one." Could Kaladze have imagined that a year and a half later he would be playing side by side with Maldini, taking part in parties and high-society receptions together with Paolo?
While a Dynamo player, Kakha did not hide his desire to live well. He simply adores cars. Back in Tbilisi, the club president gave Kaladze a Ford Explorer SUV in exchange for a broken "nine". In Kyiv, he acquired a Mercedes, which he soon replaced with a sports Nissan. He dreamed of a Ferrari, but realized that cars of this class are not suited for Kyiv roads.
To make his dream come true (to buy a Ferrari), Kakha moved to Milan and became the first Georgian footballer in Serie A. Moreover, at the time when he was undergoing a medical examination and negotiating with the leadership of the Italian grand club, Dynamo vice-president Jozsef Szabo was solemnly assuring journalists that Kaladze was at the Kyivans' training camp and preparing for the upcoming match. And then he took offense that his words were no longer believed...
So, the Georgian defender found himself in Italy and in his very first season managed to win the sympathies of the picky local audience, and also became one of the star players of Milan. A year later, he said he was satisfied with life in Italy: "I can say that I have settled in and got used to it. At first, of course, there were difficulties in terms of adaptation, but in this respect it was easier for me than, say, Shevchenko. Andrei supported me in every way, and I can't complain about the guys either; they received me very warmly. In Italy, it's a sin to complain about life. Many foreigners, in particular representatives of the Argentine and Spanish legion, note the predominance of tactical schemes and complain about the monotony of the game. They say it's beautiful but not fun. And I believe that Serie A is the toughest championship in the world. I would not dare call it boring or dull. No, it's just very hard to play here. Opponents don't let you raise your head; if you hesitate for a bit, that's it, the ball has already been taken away. In my opinion, the Italian championship is pointless to compare with any other. Take, for example, the workload. Many note that at Dynamo the training process is more intense. At Milan, they say, training is a pleasant walk. There is some truth in this, but look at Milan's schedule: it paints a completely different picture. Every Sunday is a round, appearances in the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup. That's not counting friendly matches and the matches that most players of our team play for their national teams. If, with such a crazy schedule, you also load us to the full program in training, we will break down."
The adaptation of any person in a new country is a very delicate process that requires great attention from the employer. In Milan, this attention is paid special: "I have experienced this myself and can say with full confidence that at first the most important thing is psychological support. In Milan there is a special group of people, including an Italian language teacher, who work with you every two days. Learning the Italian language is not the most difficult task facing foreign players. It is harder to get used to a new way of life, certain national customs, and people's behavior. And language is a matter of time! You train, communicate with partners, go to a restaurant, walk around the city, that is, you are constantly in a language environment; you involuntarily start speaking Italian."
Under the close scrutiny of the "good press"
At first, Kakha settled in one of the remote districts of Milan, not far from the San Siro stadium, believing that in this way he would avoid excessive attention. It was one of those houses with several apartments, and the building itself was carefully guarded: "Honestly, living there was calm, but a bit boring. And the biggest problem is the distance from the city center, where we often gather with the guys. The journey takes a lot of time, because in Milan there are simply crazy traffic jams! So I decided to move to the city center and settle on Via Bigli.
Free time? Usually it is scheduled to the minute, but after training we go to the city with the guys and have lunch in some restaurant. Then everyone goes about their business. In the evening we get together again to have dinner somewhere. On Monday you can go shopping, and after a match - go to a disco. Although, to be honest, we don't often go to discos. First, it's related to the regime; it knocks you out of your usual rhythm, and second, almost all clubs have press working there, taking photos. Of course, there is nothing reprehensible in a footballer going to dance, but if they catch you with some female star, they'll make up a whole story later."
Perhaps it was his acquaintance with representatives of the Italian press that prompted Kaladze to take up publishing. Kakha speaks of the Apennine media with great respect: "The press in Italy is, without exaggeration, the fourth estate. I would say, one big mafia to which everything is subject. Journalists can raise a player unknown just yesterday to the rank of a star, and tomorrow remove a famous coach. In Italy, their opinion is listened to, and the expression 'I have good press' is widely used here, because every footballer has a clear idea of how important it is to have 'good press'. If a player did not play a match at full strength, journalists will certainly notice it, and the next day they can simply 'bury' him in their reports."
Living in one of the capitals of European fashion, one cannot be unstylish. However, Kaladze even in Kyiv was distinguished by his ability to choose clothes and accessories: "In Milan there are many magnificent shops and brands. Especially on Via Montenapoleone. But I can't say that I prefer something specific; I just see a thing, and if I like it, I buy it."
Italy quickly became almost home for Kakha also because hot southern blood flows in the veins of the local residents. Swede Kenneth Andersson complained in an interview with one of the European publications that he just cannot get used to the Italian temperament, laxity, and unpunctuality. For Kaladze, however, this was not a shock: "Please note: if you go into a restaurant in Paris or Moscow, it is very quiet and calm. But in a restaurant or pizzeria in Italy, you can go deaf, everyone is shouting, gesticulating. But it was a little easier for me than for any other player. After all, Georgians are also people with hot blood." One can only imagine what Kaladze's adjustment to the British way of life will be. Although his compatriots Arveladze and Kinkladze, who also played in Great Britain, had no particular problems.