Kvaratskhelia, the idol of Naples after the Ukrainian war

His appearance is that of someone apparently clumsy, he plays with low socks and has an exquisite dribble.. Anyone would say Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Tbilisi, Georgia, February 12, 2001) is a player from another era. Mixing such a concept with Naples leads to an inevitable mental image: Diego Armando Maradona. The great Argentine star, who died in 2020, left an indelible mark. So much so that today he not only gives his name to the stadium known not so long ago as San Paolo, but countless portraits and references to his figure can still be found in the city.. That was a love story (so the songs said) to which for many years a continuation was sought that, apparently, arrived in July 2022.

It was then that Kvaratskhelia, who arrived in Naples for around 10 million euros from the Georgian Dinamo Batumi, a club in which he sought refuge after leaving Rubin Kazan of the Russian league due to a series of threats against him and his family that would have emerged after the war in Ukraine, he began to become a sort of new Maradona for the Neapolitans. Very soon they found in his way of haggling something that was reminiscent of those actions that the great Argentine signed time and again.. A wink reinforced with something as trivial as a song. In the typical joke for new players of getting on a chair and singing a song, the one he got was Live is Life, by Opus, which Pelusa immortalized for every football fan in the warm-up before the second leg of the season. 1988/89 UEFA Cup semi-final against Bayern.

Since then, they began to call him Kvaradona. And, little by little, he began to win the hearts of Naples fans. To such an extent that his face has also been appearing on the walls of the city. And even as many figures with his effigy are sold as socks with his number, number 77, next to Maradona's mythical number 10..

His good performances both in Italy, with a brilliant first season (with 14 goals and 17 assists in 43 games and the title of MVP of the competition), and in Europe (he is currently the footballer with the most dribbles in the current edition of the Champions, with a total of 52) it did not take long to catapult him to the Ballon d'Or lists and to attract the attention of several Premier teams. And, also, both from Barcelona itself, the team it faces tonight, and from Real Madrid. A latter club that, in principle, would have an advantage if both coincided in the race. Not in vain, as the forward himself has confessed, when he was a child he had Guti and Cristiano Ronaldo as idols.

Guti, his idol

In March of last year, a video went viral in which he highlighted the former Real Madrid number 14 as his great inspiration.. And Guti's response was up to par: he sent him a dedicated t-shirt. Something that for the young forward was, literally, seeing a childhood dream come true.

The Spanish League, before becoming a Napoli player, could have been his destiny. There were contacts with Valencia, where his compatriot Giorgio Mamardashvili plays, with whom he maintains an excellent relationship. The Valencian club, however, ended up ruling out that possibility, as explained by intermediary Antonio López at the time to Radio Marca.

At Barça, of course, they take him into account, even though he is now a member of a rival team.. “He is a top-level player, he makes a difference for the team, he has a goal, he has a pass and we will have to take him into account,” Frenkie de Jong warned yesterday.

For his part, Xavi pointed out that stopping both the Georgian and Politano and even Osimhen, if he is finally ready to play, will be especially difficult.. The coach assured that he could not settle for a draw, despite having the second leg at home. «For me, a draw is not a good result. I have been raised like this. Then, we'll see the circumstances,” said the Barcelona coach, who also pointed out that, in his opinion, the tie is “50% done.”

What is clear is that both teams are not exactly going through a good time.. For the president of the Italian team, Aurelio de Laurentiis, only winning matters. So much so that he did not hesitate to dismiss coach Walter Mazzarri last Monday. Francesco Calzona, current Slovak coach, has taken over and will combine both positions until next June.