Áron Yaakobishvili

The native form of this personal name is Yaakobishvili Áron. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Áron Yaakobishvili
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-03-06) 6 March 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Budapest, Hungary[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona B
Number 41
Youth career
2012–2014 Baráti Bőrlabda
2014–2016 Angyalföldi Sportiskola
2016–2017 MTK Budapest
2017–2018 Atlètic Sant Just
2018– Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Barcelona B 1 (0)
International career‡
2022–2023 Hungary U17 8 (0)
2024– Hungary U18 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 May 2024

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

Early life

Yaakobishvili was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Georgian Jewish father; his father was born in Georgia, and is a dual Georgian-Israeli citizen whilst 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]

He was first included into the senior team's match day squad on 25 November 2023 for a La Liga game against Rayo Vallecano.[12] Yaakobishvili made his senior debut for the reserve team Barcelona Atlètic in the third-tier Primera Federación on 27 September 2024 against Tarazona.[13]

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 so as to represent the nation at international level.[2] However, their agent Attila Georgi denied these rumours, stating that the brothers were Hungarian and that they wanted to represent Hungary at international level.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c Áron Yaakobishvili at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c ""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. ^ a b c d "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. ^ "Rayo Vallecano v Barcelona game report". Soccerway. 25 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Tarazona v Barcelona Atlètic game report". Soccerway. 27 September 2024.
  14. ^ "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.