Yahoo Sports 'A genius in the Messi mode' - send your questions for Kinkladze
Georgi Kinkladze – or Kinky as he was known to Manchester City fans – was, quite simply, a genius in the Lionel Messi mode.
I know what you're thinking – how on earth can I put a player who won no significant honours on the same pedestal as the Goat (Greatest Of All Time, not Shaun!).
Well, what he did not win in honours he made up for in moments of magic which will forever remain in the hearts of City’s fans.
Graced with insane dribbling skills – he was a ballet dancer in his early days – he could run rings around the opposition, then slalom back and do it all again.
He would sit down the hardest of midfield hatchet men - and he did the same with so many goalkeepers as they tried in vain to stop that deft finish with which he so often decorated his jinking run through the heart of an opposition defence.
The finish against Southampton, which won Goal of the Month in March 1996, was the best of the lot. He glided over turf and tackles before dinking the ball over a flailing Dave Beasant.
Unfortunately those moments of magic were few and far between, and in a struggling team he was a luxury - a Ferrari in a team of Fiats.
He was not perfect but he was ours. It is hard not to think how good he would have been in a Pep Guardiola team. He would have relished the possession game, the tight spaces and six-yard tap-ins.
But despite being my favourite player of the 1990s, and one of the most talented players I have ever seen, he would not have been a better fit for the current team than Ali Benarbia. Now, he was a player…
Got a question you'd like to ask Kinkladze? We’re chatting with him on Friday and we want to hear from you.
