Levan Papava (Georgian: ლევან პაპავა, born 2 November 1993) is a Georgian footballer who plays as a forward for Erovnuli Liga club Gareji.
He is the four-time best goalscorer of the Erovnuli Liga 2 with three different clubs.
Career
Papava started his professional career at Mark Stars in Meore Liga. In 2013–14, he displayed his goalscoring abilities for the first time, netting 21 times in 29 games during a season in which his team slipped up at the very end of a long promotion battle and finished just one point behind group leaders Borjomi.[1]
In the summer of 2015, Papava moved to second-division side Gagra where he remained for next four seasons. His first success came a year later. With 13 goals scored in 14 league games, Papava became the top scorer of the 2016 season. He was a member of the squad that reached the cup final in 2018.[2]
Following a year-long tenure at Guria, Papava joined Liga 3 club Spaeri in 2020. In his first season, he scored nearly half of the team goals (15 out of 31) while wearing a captain's armband. The next year saw Spaeri winning the league with Papava leading the goalscorers list with 23 goals in 26 matches.[3] On 18 November 2021, he netted four in a 5–0 win over Kolkheti Khobi.[4]
The player continued to extend his record as the most prolific marksman in 2022. As Spaeri came second in their debut season in Liga 2, Papava beat his rivals in a goalscoring race again with 18 goals.[5] In a decisive play-off game held on 12 December 2022, Papava scored twice, added another in penalty shootout, although Spaeri failed to overcome Gagra.[6]
Since early 2023, Papava has been a member of Gareji.[7] The club managed to make a historic achievement by winning the top-flight promotion in 2024. As a team captain, Papava took part in all 72 league games during this two-year period, bagging 50 goals in total. It included 13 goals in ten successive league games in the autumn of 2024.[8] In addition, he played a key role in knocking out two Erovnuli Liga clubs, Samtredia and Dila, from the cup competition, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–0 demolition of the former.[9]
After three consecutive individual achievements as a topscorer in the 2nd tier, Papava as well as his club made their Erovnuli Liga debut in a goalless draw against Dinamo Batumi on 6 March 2025. Ten days later, he netted a historic winner against Kolkheti 1913.[10]
Statistics
- As of match played 16 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mark Stars | 2013–14 | Meore Liga | 29 | 21 | – | – | – | 29 | 21 | |||
| Algeti | 2014–15 | Pirveli Liga | 28 | 6 | – | – | – | 28 | 6 | |||
| Gagra | 2015–16 | Pirveli Liga | 34 | 9 | – | – | – | 34 | 9 | |||
| 2016 | Pirveli Liga | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 13 | |||
| 2017 | Erovnuli Liga 2 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 5 | |||
| 2018 | Erovnuli Liga 2 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | 2[a] | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||
| Total | 111 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 119 | 32 | ||
| Spaeri | 2020 | Liga 3 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 4 | – | – | 21 | 19 | ||
| 2021 | Liga 3 | 26 | 23 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 28 | 25 | |||
| 2022 | Erovnuli Liga 2 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 1 | – | 2[a] | 2 | 35 | 21 | ||
| Total | 75 | 56 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 84 | 65 | ||
| Gareji | 2023 | Erovnuli Liga 2 | 36 | 23 | 2 | 0 | – | 2[a] | 3 | 40 | 26 | |
| 2024 | Erovnuli Liga 2 | 36 | 27 | 3 | 4 | – | – | 39 | 31 | |||
| 2025 | Erovnuli Liga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 1 | |||
| Total | 75 | 51 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 82 | 58 | ||
| Career total | 287 | 129 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 311 | 145 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in Erovnuli Liga playoffs
Honours
Club
Gareji
- Erovnuli Liga 2 winner: 2024
Spaeri
- Liga 3 winner: 2021
Individual
References
- ^ "2013–14 Meore Liga". soccerway.com.
- ^ "Gagra vs Torpedo". gff.ge (in Georgian). 25 November 2018.
- ^ "საფეხბურთო კლუბი "სპაერი"". fcspaeri.ge (in Georgian).
- ^ "Spaeri vs Kolkheti match report". gff.ge. 18 November 2021.
- ^ "2022 Erovnuli Liga 2 goalscorers". flashscore.com.
- ^ "Spaeri vs Gagra match report". eliga.ge (in Georgian). 12 December 2022.
- ^ ""გარეჯი" ახალი სეზონისთვის გაძლიერებული შემადგენლობით ემზადება". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Levan Papava profile". flashscore.com.
- ^ "საქართველოს თასზე სამი მეოთხედფინალისტი გამოვლინდა". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ "კოლხეთი 1913 0:1 გარეჯი. ისტორიული ამბავი!". lelo.ge (in Georgian). 16 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
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