In the first leg, Francesco Calzona, who had only been in charge for one day, decided that his first change as Napoli coach was going to be Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Tbilisi, 2/12/2001). The substitution, made early and with more than 20 minutes remaining, did not sit well with the Georgian winger, a star for Diego Armando Maradona. It’s not a bad start to make one of your stars grimace. However, the relief worked. Shortly after, Naples tied, a 1-1 that keeps the Italians very much alive in the tie. But also, since then, Kvaratskhelia saw the wolf’s ears and has combusted. Four goals and an assist from the forward, the offensive reference along with Osimhen, have boosted the team, which is once again fighting for the European places.
In August 2015, Barcelona went to play in his city. The final of the European Super Cup was played at the Boris Paichadze stadium, where the Blaugrana – with two goals from Messi, one from Suárez, another from Raphinha and already in extra time from Pedro – beat Sevilla (5-4). Kvaratskhelia was 14 years old and did not celebrate that victory at all. Since he was a child, he has always preferred Real Madrid. An admirer of Guti, his number 77 is a nod to Cristiano Ronaldo’s favorite number.
His white heart is not the only extra motivation the winger has going into tonight. The ineffable De Laurentiis has promised a bonus of 10 million to be distributed among the squad if they manage to eliminate Barcelona. The president, who followed the press conferences standing in the front row in the Montjuïc room, knows that qualifying for the Club World Cup in the summer of 2025 in the United States means placing Napoli in the elite and that is why he is willing to provide a lot of incentives. to the footballers to advance to the quarterfinals and overtake Juventus in the race to be the second Italian team, besides Inter, to participate in the new tournament.
20 months ago, the Georgian arrived in Naples for 11 million and was unknown, a risky bet. But in a short time he has made Dries Mertens and also Lorenzo Insigne forget, two institutions in the club with more than 100 goals each with the shirt of the Partenopean team.
Now, at just 23 years old, Transfermarkt values ??him at 80 million after leading Napoli to win their third league in their entire history. Unlike Osimhen, his partner in the attack, it seems that his future is still at the foot of Vesuvius. At the moment, he has a contract until 2027.
The exotic couple formed by the Georgian and the Nigerian – author of the 1-1 on February 21 – understand each other wonderfully. “I think that in the first leg we knew how to defend them very well. We will try to prevent them from having chances. They had one there and unfortunately it entered. You have to make their lives as complicated as possible,” Ter Stegen prescribed.
For the second consecutive season, Kvaratskhelia has once again surpassed 10 goals. Last year there were 14 goals in 43 appearances, this season he already has 10 in 36 games. Furthermore, in those 79 duels he has distributed 23 assists.
From the club of technical footballers who play with their socks down, the winger uses both legs well, has a great long-range shot but above all he is an unrepentant attacker. He averages 3.7 successful dribbles in seven Champions League games and gets two fouls per game. Exaggerated as they are in Naples, they did not take long to compare him, although it sounds like sacrilege, with Diego and baptize him as Kvaradona.
The footballer is a celebrity in his country and he became even more so when in March 2022, a few days after Russia’s war offensive against Ukraine began, he decided to abandon his team, Rubin Kazan, to return to the Georgian league. , which at the time, in 2008, was also at war with the Russians. Kvaratskhelia only lasted a few months and barely played 11 games for Dinamo Batumi but he became a hero for his compatriots, as he is in the neighborhoods of Naples.
