Zourab Tsiskaridze Jr., just called Zee by his Miami FC teammates, has taken a meandering and unique path to professional soccer in South Florida. The 22-year-old has lived on five continents and speaks five languages. ''I'm really lucky that I've had all of these opportunities,'' he said. "A lot of people my age are coming out of college and haven't seen anything. I speak all these languages and seen all these places.''
Born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tsiskaridze moved to Poland with his mother after Georgia declared independence from the USSR in 1991. He later moved to the USA in 2001 to reunite with his father, who had separated from his mother years earlier and lived in the Washington, D.C., Area. Tsiskaridze barely spoke English, but he could play soccer. Excelling in high school, he earned a tryout for D.C. United before his senior year.
Not wanting to develop in college as United suggested, Tsiskaridze left school to pursue a career in Brazil, where he picked up Portuguese. He later learned French as a member of FC Sete alongside the Mediterranean. In late 2008, he moved home to work for his father. But he didn't want to give up soccer yet. Last month, Tsiskaridze stood out amongst 128 anonymous faces at an open tryout for Miami F.C., where he impressed Miami coach Zinho. Having just signed a contract with the team, Tsiskaridze has found a new home on the South Florida soccer fields.