It didn't take long for Neapolitan fans to fall in love with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Unknown to the general public upon his arrival in the summer of 2022, the Georgian quickly wowed all those who came to admire his movements from the stands of the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. To the point that very quickly, a nickname was given to him. And not just any: “Kvaradona”. Blasphemy towards the Argentinian legend? Not really. At least not for them. Because with him, among others, Napoli completely flew through the 2022-23 financial year, winning a well-deserved title. The first since 1990. And “Kvara”, author in his first match of a goal and an assist, was logically elected MVP of the season, with notably 12 goals and 13 assists in 33 matches. But beyond the statistics, it was his dribbling that made everyone lose their minds. From his adversaries to his observers.
At the time, number 77 could boast a technical efficiency estimated at 94.8%, a record in the last six Serie A years. We also noted his ability to make the right choices (K-Solution 94.8%). and its influence on the Neapolitan game, with an offensive aggressiveness established at 95.3%. All thanks to an almost perfect physical condition (17 matches with 95% physical efficiency). More generally, since his arrival in Italy (according to Opta): 1st in the ranking of successful dribbles (196), 1st for balls touched in the opponent's area (491), 2nd in terms of chances created (145), 2nd biggest striker (263) and 3rd for shots on target (94). In short, very high level. “PSG recruited a player with great fantasyconfides Pierpaolo Matrone, journalist for local television Telecapri. Dribbling is his greatest strength. But it's a special dribble. Not really the same as Ousmane Dembélé, who will be his counterpart on the right.”
Because by recruiting Kvaratskhelia during this winter window, for no less than 70 million euros, Paris has in fact secured a unique profile. Besides gaining unpredictability. For the Italian legend Gianfranco Zola, the one who was trained at Dinamo Tbilisi, the most famous and successful club in Georgian football, before revealing himself in Russia (Lokomotiv Moscow then Rubin Kazan), is downright “a sort of new George Best“. Fast, elegant, capable of playing as a winger as a center forward, altruistic, the Georgian makes opposing defenses dizzy with his confusing dribbles.
We look for the player's innate qualities to improve them
“He is a player who is very strong in his first stepscontinues our transalpine colleague. He is not built like other dribblers, who have their center of attraction quite low. He is not as fast as Dembélé or Barcola. Kvara is squarer and thicker, both in size and stature. He's quite muscular. So he also uses his physical ability to erase his opponent on his first steps. He manages to dribble past his opponent while dominating him physically. Che is an elusive and sinuous dribbler, not necessarily electric: he leaves, feints, changes direction. He obliterates his opponent by constantly unbalancing him.” “We could also talk about his hittingunderlines Vincenzo Credendino, another Neapolitan journalist. When he shoots, the sound of the impact on the ball is not the same as that of other players. He doesn't just have dribbling to his advantage. In addition, he is a player capable of making plays and serving as a link between his teammates. Kvaratskhelia is of a very high level.”
If his percentage of successful dribbles has dropped considerably over the past year and a half, falling to 26% this season (19/72), making him the worst player – with at least 15 dribbles attempted – in the Italian championship, Kvaratskhelia remains a lethal weapon for Luis Enrique. “Its characteristics are adaptable to our style of play. We look for the player's innate qualities to improve them. Be in front of goal as often as possible, be in a shooting situation but also connect with a particular player and create synergies. I think what he will bring to the team is positive.”assured the Parisian technician Friday at a press conference.
-Earlier in the week, he was talking about a player “different from others” at the microphone of Sky Italia. “He is a young player, but he already has experience and great qualities. We had been following him for four or five years already. It responds to our desire to recruit young players to help them grow with us“, he added. This transfer could also do him good, while the Italian defenses ended up surrounding him after two and a half years. Less space, more shots and a team which slowly changed center of gravity: life has not always been a long, quiet river for “Kvaradona”, suddenly becoming human again since the quest for the fourth Neapolitan title. The context around him had changed.
It corresponds to our idea of football
“But PSG secured a hell of a striker in addition to a dribblerretorts Pierpaolo Matrone. Just watch the videos circulating. He scored a lot of goals from outside the box, even with his left foot. Kvaratskhelia also knows how to hit corners, in addition to remaining lucid in the offensive phase despite his defensive efforts. And tactically, he has learned a lot in Italy over the past two and a half years… Around him, however, he needs a tactical context that works.“Which is Luis Enrique’s work, obviously.
“I think we all know Kvara. He is a player who demonstrated his level in Naples and with Georgiasaid the PSG coach. He is perfectly adaptable to our idea of the game. He has the ability to play one-on-one, he can also play inside, and even in the 9, as he showed in the selection. He is versatile, he can overwhelm, and he also has a great ability to defend, which is essential because we need to defend with eleven and attack with eleven. It corresponds to our idea of football“, repeated the latter at the start of the week, not excluding using him, if necessary, in a false nine role. Which “Kvara” almost never did with Naples. There, his zone of Predilection has always been the left lane, with the possibility of entering the axis at will.
“He must be in front of the goal as often as possible to be in a shooting situation, but also connected to the other players“, Luis Enrique has already warned, convinced that his new recruit can hit hard from the first part of the season. Will he launch him into the arena on Saturday against Reims (9:05 p.m.)?Physically, he is very good, we saw him during training, he is well adapted, he is a PSG player, everything is fine, he is ready“, he announced at a press conference on Friday at the PSG Campus in Poissy (Yvelines). Let the show begin.
