Áron Yaakobishvili

Áron Yaakobishvili (Hebrew: ארון יעקובישווילי, Georgian: აარონ იაკობიშვილი; born 6 March 2006) is a Hungarian professional footballer currently playing as a goalkeeper for Barcelona.

Áron Yaakobishvili
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-03-06) 6 March 2006
Place of birth Budapest, Hungary[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona
Youth career
2012–2014 Baráti Bőrlabda
2014–2016 Angyalföldi Sportiskola
2016–2017 MTK Budapest
2017–2018 Sant Just
2018– Barcelona
International career‡
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Hungary U17 8 (0)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 August 2023

Early life

Yaakobishvili was born in Budapest, Hungary to Jewish parents; his father was born in Georgia and spent two years in Israel, gaining Israeli citizenship, while his mother is Hungarian.[2][3] His elder brother, Antal, is also a footballer, and currently plays for fellow Spanish club Girona.[2][4]

Club career

Yaakobishvili joined local side Baráti Bőrlabda at the age of six in 2012, before moving to Angyalföldi Sportiskola two years later.[3][4] He spent a season with MTK Budapest before moving to Spain in 2017 after his mother had accepted a job in Barcelona.[4][5][6][7] On his arrival in Spain, he had a short spell with amateur side Atlètic Sant Just, before being invited on a three-day trial with Barcelona the following year, joining the club after impressing coaches.[8][3]

Having progressed through Barcelona's La Masia academy, he signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2022.[9] In March of the same year, he trained with the Barcelona first team.[4][10] On 11 October 2023, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide.[11]

International career

Yaakobishvili has represented Hungary at youth international level.[1] In June 2023, it was reported by Israeli sports journalism outlet Sport 5 that Yaakobishvili and his brother were attempting to gain Israeli citizenship in order to represent the nation at international level.[2] However, their agent Georgi Attila denied these rumours, stating that the brothers were Hungarian and that they wanted to represent Hungary at international level.[12]

References
  1. Áron Yaakobishvili at WorldFootball.net
  2. 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.
  3. "„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.
  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. "Labdarúgás: büszkeségünk, Yaakobishvili Áron" [Football: our pride, Áron Yaakobishvili]. asidse.hu (in Hungarian). 25 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  6. Fernández, Adrià (24 March 2022). "¿Quién es Aron Yaakobishvili?" [Who is Aron Yaakobishvili?]. sport.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. "Yaakobishvili Áron: "Úgy érzem tudom kezelni, hogy itthon én vagyok a barçás srác"" [Áron Yaakobishvili: "I feel like I can handle the fact that I'm the guy with the bar at home"]. eurobarca.hu (in Hungarian). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  8. "Yaakobishvili, el jove porter que s'ha entrenat amb el primer equip del Barça" [Yaakobishvili, the young goalkeeper who has trained with the Barça first team]. ccma.cat (in Catalan). 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  9. Nagy, Benjámin (5 February 2022). "Barcelona: új szerződést kapott a magyar tehetség" [Barcelona: the Hungarian talent received a new contract]. nb1.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  10. "Aron Yaakobishvili, un porter de 15 anys amb el primer equip del Barça" [Aron Yaakobishvili, a 15-year-old goalkeeper with Barça's first team]. beteve.cat (in Catalan). 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  11. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (11 October 2023). "Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  12. "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.
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