Georgia on Arveladze's mind

Georgian fans will show their appreciation for Shota Arveladze for the last time on 3 June as he stages his farewell game at Tbilisi's Boris Paichadze Stadium.

Farewell match
The 35-year-old forward, who has been on the books at Spanish side UD Levante this season, said: "I decided the time has finally come. On 3 June I will play my last match at my favourite stadium for my favourite fans. I have invited some former and current footballers along who I played with at club and national level. I'm planning a big party that night for all Georgian football fans."

Star guests
Given that Arveladze's career included spells with FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Trabzonspor, AFC Ajax, Rangers FC and AZ Alkmaar, he has plenty of illustrious former colleagues to call on, with Michael Laudrup, Ronald and Frank de Boer, Claudio Caniggia, Haruna Babangida, Richard Witschge, Andrei Kanchelskis, Stefan Klos, Damiano Tommasi, Arthur Numan, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids all invited.

Knee injury
"I have been playing since I was six," said Arveladze. "I always wanted to spent my last years in the Spanish league and I got that chance but a knee injury stopped me making my name at Levante. If not for the injury I could have played one more season, but I felt that I couldn't play at my best anymore so I decided to quit. It was a tough decision. I can't live without football."

Coaching thoughts
Unsurprisingly, he is already considering a move into coaching. "I've gained a lot of valuable experience while working with some great coaches, so I think I'm ready for it," said Arveladze, who scored 246 goals in 410 league games for his clubs. "Still at the moment I can't say where I will start." Some have already suggested he might be offered a junior position with the national team.

International angle
Georgia have no national team coach at the moment following Klaus Toppmöller's departure, and though he may not be ready for the senior job yet, Arveladze has certainly not lost interest in international football. He said: "I think about the national team every day. I scored a lot of goals during my career, but the most important were scored for Georgia.

'It'll be OK'
"Currently we're in a bit of a crisis," he added. "There is change of generation going on in the team, but I believe it'll be OK. We have a lot of talents who can produce a result together with experienced players like Kakha Kaladze, Malkhaz Asatiani and Levan Kobiashvili. If someone offered me a place with the national team I would do my best in the team I love so much."