Kvaratskhelia: From rural Georgia turned Napoli star

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia started retired knocking the shot astir arsenic a barefoot lad by a riverside successful agrarian Georgia but is present 1 of the hottest properties successful satellite football.

Following successful his footballer father's footsteps, the guardant spent 5 years astatine Dinamo Tbilisi's academy from the property of 11.

He is presently dazzling for runaway Serie A leaders Napoli, with 14 goals and 14 assists successful each competitions this season.

"Few could ideate astatine the clip that the thin lad would go an planetary star," the then-advisor to Dinamo Tbilisi's president, Levan Salukvadze, told AFP.

Back successful 2017, erstwhile Kvaratskhelia began his elder vocation astatine Georgia's preeminent club, aged 16, "managers feared helium wasn't physically acceptable (enough) to play with seniors", Salukvadze said.

"The club's president suggested to hold a mates of much years earlier helium joins the team, but I told him that successful 2 years' clip Kvaratskhelia would beryllium playing for Liverpool oregon Real."

Now, Kvaratskhelia is an planetary prima dubbed "Kvaradona" by Napoli fans successful notation to their revered icon Diego Maradona.

As a child, helium was a "shy, disciplined lad who lived for football", according to Salukvadze.

"Since his childhood, helium was afloat concentrated connected shot and up until contiguous shot is much than conscionable a occupation to him... that's wherefore his feints, play, running, and acceleration are this joyful."

Dinamo Tbilisi's then-chief scout Teimuraz Ugrekhelidze described him arsenic a "very talented kid, distinguished for his velocity and technique".

"His method was not lone astir not losing the ball, but helium was besides ever acceptable to instrumentality the offensive," helium added.

"Kvaratskhelia ne'er skipped a azygous training, helium was an illustration for the squad arsenic a talented and highly purposeful subordinate who ever does his champion to win."

Biographer Giorgi Kekelidze said Kvaratskhelia's endowment is rooted successful the emotion for shot helium had seen arsenic a kid successful his household and his autochthonal colony successful occidental Georgia.

In astir each interview, Kvaratskhelia credits household for his achievements.

Football-loving household down occurrence

"His gramps Mamia and begetter Badri were palmy footballers and his grandma Dunia -- an avid, yet precise unusual shot enthusiast," Kekelidze said.

"She utilized to privation each the shot matches extremity with a draw, truthful that cipher gets upset.

"But that changed aft Khvicha moved to Napoli. Ahead of his game, she would marque the motion of the transverse connected her TV acceptable and commune for his win."

When Dunia died successful January, Kvaratskhelia wore a bangle with her sanction during Napoli's lucifer with Roma.

"There is simply a large emotion for shot successful Nakifu," the distant colony of bucolic landscapes and conscionable 700 people, Kekelidze said.

It whitethorn look an improbable cradle for a rising planetary phenomenon, but "'shining star' is precisely what his archetypal name, Khvicha, means successful the Mingrelian language" spoken successful his autochthonal region.

A seasoned historiographer of Georgian football, Tengiz Pachkoria, who followed Kvaratskhelia's vocation from his aboriginal years, said the nation's affluent shot traditions person shaped him arsenic a player.

During the bygone aureate property of Georgian shot -- that flourished from the 1960s to the 1980s, -- "Georgian footballers were referred to arsenic 'Soviet Brazilians' successful the European press," helium said.

"That was highly technical, improvisational shot to which belongs the full radical of large footballers and Kvaratskhelia's benignant originates from their shot aesthetics," helium added.