Against Brazil in Seville on 14 June 1982 he lined up in the Soviet Union's World Cup defence, a year after starting the Cup Winners' Cup final in Düsseldorf and playing 67 minutes of the win over Carl Zeiss Jena. Euro 1988 brought a runner-up medal with the USSR and Moscow 1980 an Olympic bronze, on top of the 1981 Cup Winners' Cup, the Soviet title of 1978 and the 1979 Soviet Cup. Career record: 55 caps and 2 goals for Georgia; club career at FC Torpedo Kutaisi, FC Dinamo Tbilisi, IFK Holmsund.
| 1974–1978 | FC Torpedo Kutaisi |
| 1978–1988 | FC Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 1989–1989 | IFK Holmsund |
| Georgia | 55 caps, 2 goals |
Georgia legends whose careers overlapped Sulakvelidze's
One rank above: Giorgi Kinkladze at #10.
One rank below: Vitaly Daraselia at #12.
Georgia's editorial top five: Slava Metreveli · David Kipiani · Khvicha Kvaratskhelia · Kakha Kaladze · Mikheil Meskhi.