Some say Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the most exciting player in Europe. Former Italy international Antonio Cassano believes Jack Grealish is unfit to play. Gianfranco Zola prefers to draw his parallels from the past. If you were wondering, my name is George Best. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a name to remember and a player to keep an eye on. He sparked Napoli’s Serie A title run as well as the public’s imagination. The unexpectedness heightens the thrill. He was in the Georgian League a year ago.
His brief stint at Dinamo Batumi was a geopolitical coincidence, as his contract at Rubin Kazan was terminated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, it contributes to the folklore surrounding the guy known as Kvaradona, who appears out of nowhere to dazzle Europe’s defenses. However, this is not entirely correct. Kvaratskhelia may appear to be playing football from another planet, yet he has always been among us. Leonid Slutsky, the former Rubin manager who has managed him for the most matches, makes this claim.
“What he is doing does not surprise me,” he said about Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. “Nobody had heard of him before he arrived in Italy, which is unsurprising given that the Russian league is not widely known in Europe. But everyone in Russia was aware. His talent and current status in world football come as no surprise to any of us. I congratulate Napoli on winning the lottery. They have a £100 million player for close to nothing.”
“Tottenham had expressed serious interest in the club a year ago. It was virtually finalized. He has the same quality and played in the same manner,” he added. “But in Russia, we have a saying. A bad player who transfers to a good squad can improve. A good player can become a bad player if he transfers to a bad squad. It will aid your development if you start playing at a higher level in Serie A. Kvara already had the talent, but on a big team like Napoli that is competing for major titles, he has increased his abilities. The other players surrounding him, the coaches, the league level, all of this has contributed to him being stronger and stronger.”
Other modifications to his game have occurred over time. Kvaratskhelia is stronger now. The Russian league is extremely tough, physical, and possibly the toughest in the world. You must demonstrate not only your ability but also your character. Especially given the absence of security.
“There were fouls against him from the first minute in Russia, and the umpires never intervened. For example, in a recent match versus Milan, both players on his side of the pitch received yellow cards in the first half, forcing the coach to replace them both,” he continued. “If you play hard and dirty against Kvara in Italy, you will get a yellow card. It was a very different story in Russia. There could be 10 or 20 fouls on Kvara and no whistle would be blown. It was an issue for him. He was crying after each foul at first. If we’re talking about shortcomings, he lacked patience. He was irritated with each foul. Of course, we had to cross our fingers that he didn’t get any significant injuries, but it turned out to be a positive experience.”
Even when Kvaratskhelia was able to escape this scrutiny, his aesthetic bent sometimes placed him in conflict with his coach. Luciano Spalletti is still known for finding the most difficult angles. Slutsky needed to speak up back then. Sometimes. On other occasions, such as in February against Sassuolo, he will elegantly dink the ball away from his marker before dancing through. When the ball hit the net against Atalanta in March, he was surrounded by eight opponents, with no teammates in sight.
“He has the ability to dribble past three or four players with ease. For him, this isn’t a huge thing. His football ability includes outstanding dribbles to the left and right, as well as incredibly sharp decision-making and finishing. On the football pitch, he exhibits unusual thinking,” he concluded.
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