Former Manchester City player who scored iconic derby goal becomes Georgia's new president
Former Manchester City striker Mikheil Kavelashvili has been appointed president by the Georgian parliament.
The 53-year-old, a former member of parliament, was the only candidate for the position, running for the ruling Georgian Dream party.
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224 of the 225 members of Georgia's electoral college voted for him, but Georgia's opposition parties have been boycotting parliament, insisting that elections held in October were rigged.
Go back almost 30 years and Kavelashvili had just joined Man City in the Premier League from FC Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia.
He made an instant impact at City's former home, Maine Road, scoring on his debut.
And it wasn't just any debut goal either.
The Georgian faced none other than City's fierce local rivals. manchester united in the 1995/96 Manchester derby.
The Red Devils were 1-0 up at Maine Road thanks to an Eric Cantona penalty in the sixth minute, before City's new striker fired home in the 39th minute to equalise.
However, in the end it was United's day, with goals from Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs sealing a 3-2 derby victory.
Kavelashvili continued to play for City following their relegation to the First Division, now known as the Championship.
He scored two goals in 24 appearances, before being loaned to Swiss side Grasshoppers Zurich.
He won the Swiss Super League in 1998 and in 1999 he moved permanently from City to Zurich.
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After retiring in Basel in 2006 with 46 caps for Georgia under his belt, Kavelashvili later entered politics.
This came after he was disqualified from running for the Georgian football federation managership because he was deemed to lack qualifications.
He was elected deputy for Georgia in 2016.
His party, Popular Power, ran alongside Georgian Dream in the October elections.
Now it has decided to act in parliament as a “healthy opposition.”
Despite large protests in Georgia, the former Premier League striker is expected to take office on December 29.
