Eight consonants, four vowels and a name that Parisian supporters are already learning to pronounce, with a lot of video.
At 23, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, still unknown to the general public in France, is a superstar in her country. Georgia and 3.7 million inhabitants, sandwiched between Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia and Russia, only has eyes for “Kvara”.
“It’s an icon here,” admits Bidzina Baratashvili, journalist for Silknet TV and vice-president of the association of sports journalists in Georgia. “I have known several generations, Georgian Football at the top in the 80s with SK Dinamo Tbilisi, but it is true that for the younger generation, he embodies football in Georgia, he is football. Football is always in our hearts and our minds, and there, we start dreaming of victories with the selection again thanks to him.”
Fabien Bossuet is in the front row: the physical trainer is part of the technical staff of the Georgian selection led by Frenchman Willy Sagnol. “Already one or two years before the Euro, he had a slightly unusual statushe explains. The Georgians are very, very proud of him and he creates a lot of expectations, he is clearly an icon.”
The one who was nicknamed “Kvaradona” in Naples, in reference to the Argentinian legend Diego Maradona who also made Naples shine on the Italian and European scene, was voted best player of the season in Naples in 2023.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will take the next step by joining PSG. “For us, he is one of the best young players in the world and his arrival at PSG is a good opportunity for him and for the clubcontinues Bidzina Baratashvili. Plus there, he will have chances to play. Just as much, a few years ago, with Neymar, Mbappé and Messi, it would have been complicated, now, I think he will have more room to express himself. He's an ambitious player, he doesn't come to play, but to win the Champions League.”
“PSG is a brilliant club, with a recent history but it has become a club known throughout the world, it wins all the titles on the national scene. Kvara will be able to win new trophies, it's a good not for his career.”
-Bidzina Baratashvili, Georgian journalistat franceinfo
“Kvara” can play in all positions of the attack. “He is a fluid, very technical player, who really likes the ball, but who fits into the group a lot. He is not individualistic”specifies Fabien Bossuet. “I don't really like comparisons, but one day Willy Sagnol said that he looked like Franck Ribéry. In the mouth of Willy Sagnol, that's not nothing. Kvara is an instinctive player, that cannot be described, you have to see him play. It goes beyond the technical aspect, he is a very great instinctive technician.”
Georgian journalist Bidzina Baratashvili agrees: “He's an artist, a fanciful player, his technique is unique and that's what people like to see at the stadium. He loves football, he has discipline, but he likes to have freedom. I don't know not if he can become an icon of PSG, as he was in Naples, given the players who have passed in the capital, but he will do a great job to be popular.
Qualities which should allow him to establish himself at Paris Saint-Germain. “This is what corresponds to him today, he needed it in his personal evolution“, believes Fabien Bossuet. “The level at which he plays will inevitably influence his personal development, I think he really has the means to show great things at Paris Saint-Germain.”
Especially since the 23-year-old is more of a homebody, close to his family. “He spends a lot of time with his loved ones. He is a simple person, very pleasant to be around, very close to family ties. This is even felt in the way we work. And then, he is a football lover. The Georgians when we have them in the selection, it's easy to put them on the field, and difficult to take them off sometimes, to tell them stop (laughs). Kvara is no longer just a nugget, he has shown certain things and that can only be beneficial for the selection.“
After enchanting the Diego Maradona Stadium in Naples, Kvara has all the cards in hand to become the new prince of the Park.
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