Antal Yaakobishvili (born 12 July 2004) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish club Girona FC B.

Early life

Yaakobishvili was born in Budapest, Hungary to Georgian Jewish father; his father was born in Georgia and spent two years in Israel, enabling Israeli citizenship; his mother is Hungarian.[1][2] His younger brother Áron is also a footballer, and plays as a goalkeeper for the youth sides of FC Barcelona.[3][1][4]

Club career

Yaakobishvili moved to Barcelona in 2017 after his mother received a job offer in the city,[3] and joined the youth sides of Atlètic Sant Just FC along with his younger brother. In 2021, he was signed by Girona FC, joining their Juvenil squads.[5]

Yaakobishvili made his senior debut with Girona's reserves on 11 December 2022, starting in a 4–1 Tercera Federación home routing of CE L'Hospitalet. He scored his first senior goal the following 12 February, netting the B's second in a 2–0 away win over UE Tona.[6]

Yaakobishvili made his first team debut on 17 January 2024, coming on as a half-time substitute for Juanpe in a 3–1 home win over Rayo Vallecano, for the season's Copa del Rey.[7][8]

On 21 January 2024, he debuted in La Liga in a 5–1 victory over Sevilla FC on the 25 game week of the 2023–24 La Liga season.[9]

On 29 January 2025, he played his first match in the UEFA Champions League in a 2-1 defeat from Arsenal F.C. on the last match day of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase.[10][11] After the match, Michel, the manager of Girona, said that Yaakobishvili is ready for playing in the first team[12]

International career

Yaakobishvili has represented Hungary at under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. In June 2023, it was reported by Israeli sports journalism outlet Sport 5 that Yaakobishvili and his brother were attempting to gain Israeli citizenship so as to represent the nation at international level.[1] However, their agent Attila Georgi denied these rumours, stating that the brothers were Hungarian and that they wanted to represent Hungary at international level.[13]

On 27 August 2024, Yaakobishvili was called up to the Hungary national team by manager Marco Rossi for a 2024–25 UEFA Nations League match against Germany.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Girona B 2022–23 Tercera Federación 14 0 14 0
2023–24 Tercera Federación 22 0 22 0
Total 36 0 36 0
Girona 2023–24 La Liga 1 0 2 0 3 0
2024–25 La Liga 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 2 0
Total 1 0 3 0 1 0 5 0
Career total 37 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 41 0
  1. ^ Apperance in UEFA Champions League

References

  1. ^ a b c Pashchatsky, Moti; Malamud, Elhanan (22 June 2023). "שוער העתיד של ברצלונה ואחיו שיכולים לשחק בנבחרת ישראל" [The future goalkeeper of Barcelona and his brother who can play for the Israeli national team]. sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. ^ ""Nem lőnek elég erőset!" – Lewandowskiékkal készült a Barca Magyar kapusa" ["They don't shoot hard enough!" - Barca's Hungarian goalkeeper trained with Lewandowski]. nb1.hu (in Hungarian). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "¿Quiénes son Astralaga, Kochen y Yako, los suplentes de Iñaki Peña?" [Who are Astralaga, Kochen and Yako, the replacements of Iñaki Peña?] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Magyar futballista edzett az FC Barcelona első csapatával" [Hungarian football player trained with the first team of FC Barcelona]. magyarnemzet.hu (in Hungarian). 25 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Magyar válogatott: spanyol élcsapatból érkezhet Marco Rossi meglepetésembere az Eb-re" [Hungarian national team: Marco Rossi's surprise man may come to the European Championship from the Spanish top team] (in Hungarian). SportPoszt.com. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  6. ^ "El Girona B fa la feina al camp del Tona (0–2)" [Girona B get the job done at the home grounds of Tona (0–2)] (in Catalan). L'Esportiu. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  7. ^ "El fuego del Girona llega a la Copa" [Girona's fire reach the Cup] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Yaakobishvili, el gigante que ilusiona al Girona" [Yaakobishvili, the giant who gives hope to Girona] (in Spanish). Sport. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Yaakobishvili Antal a La Ligában is bemutatkozott, újra tarolt, és élre állt a Girona!". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Yaakobishvili Antal debütál a BL-ben, ott van az Arsenal elleni kezdőcsapatban". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 29 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  11. ^ UEFA.com. "Girona vs Arsenal: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League phase". UEFA.com. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  12. ^ "A Girona edzője: Antal készen áll arra, hogy az élvonalban szerepeljen". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Cáfol a menedzser: a Yaakobishvili testvérek nem váltanak országot" [The agent denies: the Yaakobishvili brothers are not changing countries]. sportal.blikk.hu (in Hungarian). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Válogatott: két Dárdai és több újonc Marco Rossi keretében". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 27 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
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