Giorgi Loria

Giorgi Loria (born 27 January 1986) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Dinamo Tbilisi and the Georgia national team.
During his long career Loria has played in five different leagues and become the most capped goalkeeper of the national team.
Club career
Loria joined the Avaza football school at age 8. At 17 he moved to Dinamo Tbilisi academy whence he was initially promoted to its junior team.
In 2005 Loria played for the senior team for the first time. After nine consecutive seasons at Dinamo he left the club in July 2014.
During the 2014–15 season, Loria played for OFI Crete but due to the club's financial problems he left the club at the end of the season. According to a source, Loria had reached a verbal agreement with PAOK F.C. in early 2015, however he did not sign for the team.
The keeper was eventually signed by Olympiacos as a back-up of Roberto, since the second-choice goalkeeper Balázs Megyeri had left the Greek giants. Loria signed with Olympiacos for a two-year contract. OFI was rumored to have accepted a bid in the region of €700,000, as Loria was among the top goalies in the 2014–15 season. However, there are strong indications that the player was actually signed on a free transfer.
Loria quickly left Olympiacos due to personal issues and increased competition with teammates Stefanos Kapino and Andreas Gianniotis for the team's #2, while Roberto is undoubtedly the team's first-choice under their goalposts and one of Thrylos' captains. Olympiacos' latest intention to invest in the two young Greek prospects' development was a contributing factor for Loria's decision to leave the squad. Both the player and the club agreed that it is best to part ways. He signed for the Russian Premier League side Krylia Sovetov Samara shortly after.
On 21 August 2017, following Krylia Sovetov's relegation from the Russian Premier League, he joined Anzhi Makhachkala on loan for 2017–18 season.
On 18 January 2019, Loria signed a six-month deal with 2. Bundesliga side Magdeburg.
On 4 July 2019, he signed with Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta. On 17 March 2022, the sides renewed the contract until the summer of 2024.
On 27 June 2023, the management of Anorthosis announced that he is a past member of the team. In the four years (2019-23) that he wore the "blue and white" he was the team's main goalkeeper and a protagonist in the team's successes, winning the 2021 Cup and qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage. And with 127 appearances in official matches, he managed to climb to seventh place on the list of foreigners with the most appearances.
After a nine-year pause Loria rejoined his youth club and Erovnuli Liga's defending champions Dinamo Tbilisi in late June 2023. A few days after his return, Dinamo won a four-team Super Cup tournament with Loria playing a crucial role in this success as he saved three after-match penalties in two games.
International career
Loria made a debut for the national team in a 1–1 friendly match against Estonia on 27 May 2008 despite being considered N2 goalkeeper at Dinamo Tbilisi. He quickly proved to be a strong and stable member of the team. With 77 appearances as of April 2023, he is currently among the six all-time most-capped Georgian players.
Career statistics
Club
Notes
Personal life
His father Nugzar Loria was a film producer. Giorgi himself studied at the Theatre and Film University and once featured in movie What happened in Kyiv as an actor.
Married to Salome Kopaliani, he has one daughter.
Honours
Anorthosis
Cypriot Cup: 2020–21
Cypriot Super Cup: Runner-Up 2021
Dinamo Tbilisi
Georgian League: 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14
Georgian Cup: 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14
Georgian Super Cup: 2006, 2008, 2023
References
External links
1986 births
Living people
Men's footballers from Georgia (country)
Georgia (country) men's international footballers
Georgia (country) men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
FC Dinamo Tbilisi players
OFI Crete F.C. players
Olympiacos F.C. players
Expatriate men's footballers from Georgia (country)
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara players
Expatriate men's footballers in Russia
Erovnuli Liga players
Super League Greece players
Russian Premier League players
FC Anzhi Makhachkala players
2. Bundesliga players
Anorthosis Famagusta FC players
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Footballers from Tbilisi
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Russia
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Germany
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany