Saba Sazonov
Footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saba Andreyevich Sazonov (Russian: Саба Андреевич Сазонов; Georgian: საბა საზონოვი; born 1 February 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Torino. Born in Russia, he plays for the Georgia national team internationally.
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Sazonov with Dynamo Moscow in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saba Andreyevich Sazonov | ||
| Date of birth | 1 February 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Torino | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2020 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Zenit-2 Saint Petersburg | 24 | (3) |
| 2021 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Dynamo Moscow | 34 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Dynamo-2 Moscow | 9 | (2) |
| 2023– | Torino | 13 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Empoli (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2025 | Georgia U21 | 12 | (2) |
| 2022– | Georgia | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 June 2025 | |||
Early life
His mother Nino Nishnianidze is a former professional Georgian volleyball player from Samtredia. She moved to Saint Petersburg where she met her Russian husband. During his childhood, Sazonov moved to Georgia and then back to Russia, to feel more comfortable with both countries' language and culture.[2]
Club career
Sazonov made his debut in the Russian Premier League for FC Zenit Saint Petersburg on 16 May 2021 in a game against FC Tambov. He was substituted on for Magomed Ozdoyev in the 76th minute.[3]
In June 2021, he joined Dynamo Moscow on trial.[4] On 9 July 2021, after impressing on trial, he signed a three-year contract with Dynamo.[5]
On 31 August 2023, he signed for Serie A club Torino, becoming the third Georgian in the Serie A ahead the 2023–24 season.[6]
Having taken part in 13 league matches for Torino, Sazonov signed a year-long loan contract with Empoli on 30 August 2024.[7] Before he played any games for Empoli, he suffered an ACL tear in training, which eventually kept him out of play for the rest on the 2024–25 season.[8]
International career
In September 2022, Sazonov was called up to the Georgia national under-21 football team.[9] He was also called up to the Russian team for the same dates,[10] but he chose to represent Georgia. Sazonov took part in all four games of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, scoring a header in a 2–0 win over Portugal.[11]
Sazonov debuted with the senior Georgia national team in a friendly 3–0 loss to Morocco on 17 November 2022.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of matches played on 17 August 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Zenit-2 St. Petersburg | 2019–20 | Russian Second League | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Russian Second League | 18 | 3 | – | – | – | 18 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 3 | |||
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| Dynamo-2 Moscow | 2021–22 | Russian Second League | 9 | 2 | – | – | – | 9 | 2 | |||
| Dynamo Moscow | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 24 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 41 | 1 | |||
| Torino | 2023–24 | Serie A | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | |||
| Empoli (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 81 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 6 | ||
Honours
Zenit Saint Petersburg