that won the domestic treble in 2002–03 and a double in 2004–05. AZ Arveladze departed Rangers for Dutch side AZ on a free transfer before the start of 2005–06 season, signing a two-year deal with the club. Under the guidance of Louis van Gaal, Arveladze became the key figure of the club. He scored 22 goals in Eredivisie, becoming the second best top-scorer of the tournament after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scored 33 goals during the season. Alkmaar participated in UEFA Cup this time as well. In 6 game for the club, Arveladze made 2 assists and scored 2 goals, one of them against Real Betis. At the end of the season, AZ Alkmaar and Arveladze agreed a contract extension to keep the Georgian international striker at the Dutch club until the summer of 2008. During the second and the final season with the club, Arveladze was appointed as the new captain of the club. He was offered the armband after Denny Landzaat and Joris Mathijsen left for Wigan Athletic and Hamburger SV respectively. The Georgian was praised by Louis van Gaal, under whose guidance he played at Ajax Amsterdam as well. Van Gaal compared Arveladze to Danny Blind and Frank Rijkaard in terms of personality, calling him the top professional in the squad. He scored 23 goals, accumulating total 48 goals for AZ in 89 competitive appearances. The Georgian striker scored 7 goals in UEFA Cup as well, two of them in Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in a 2–1 away win against Sevilla. Levante In July 2007, Arveladze passed a medical and agreed a one-year contract with the Spanish club Levante. He was injured in summer training and missed nearly ten months, undergoing surgery in Amsterdam. He returned and made his debut against Villarreal on 23 March, replacing Juanma. He managed to take part in other 3 games until the end of the season. In April, Levante confirmed that Arveladze would retire at the end of the season. In the last game of his career he played at Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid, losing 5–2. International career Shota Arveladze was a regular in the Georgian national team and is its all-time leading scorer with 26 goals in his 61 games. He made his international debut in Georgia's first official game on 2 September 1992, a 1–0 friendly loss away to Lithuania. Fifteen days later, he scored his first goal in