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Extended Clip - Who Is Kvicha Kvaratskhelia? The Napoli Sensation Lighting Up Serie A
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Nima Tavallaey, John Solano and Carlo Garganese discuss who Napoli's Georgian sensation who's lighting up the Serie A Kvicha Kvaratskhelia is, how good he can become ahead of clash with Liverpool in the Champions League at the Stadio Diego Maradona.
This is an extended preview of this weeks free Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts.
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Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast.
Napoli's Victory and Performance Analysis
00:00:06
Speaker
Napoli, in my opinion, I think they deserved that
Breakout Star in Football
00:00:09
Speaker
win. You also have the continued breakout, Nima, of this guy that you really liked. And we talked about him briefly a couple of weeks ago, but I think that he deserves a bit more discussion because he really has been a shining light.
Spotlight on Łiča Kvalicelya
00:00:26
Speaker
And let's be clear, okay? Unexpected. Very unexpected. Well, that's the thing, though. I mean, he's been amongst
00:00:34
Speaker
Łiča Kvalicelya has been on the radar for quite some time as being, you know, a huge talent. I remember in 2018 the Guardian named him amongst the 60 best young players worldwide. For me, I really noticed him when he killed Sweden's World Cup hopes by scoring twice in Georgia when they beat Sweden 2-0.
Kvalicelya's Career Journey
00:01:00
Speaker
And I mean, this guy is
00:01:03
Speaker
We think that he came through the youth system at Dinamo Tbilisi and he was 16 years old when he began his senior career there and he moved on.
00:01:15
Speaker
a year later. And then in 2019, he turned to the Russian Premier League. He played for Lokomotiv Moscow on loan. And, you know, and they were disappointed. I remember, you know, Lokomotiv Moscow manager Yuri Semyon was very angry at the time that he they couldn't sign him. And especially when he went to Rubinkazan, where he signed a five year deal at the age of 18. And obviously, after the war in Ukraine, he was able to suspend his contracts. And he went to
00:01:45
Speaker
He joined Dinamo Batumi in Georgia. And then, obviously, throughout all of this, Napoli, throughout all these years, because let's be clear, this is a guy who's been tracked by both Manchester United, Manchester City, the biggest clubs in Europe have wanted him.
Napoli's Strategy for Kvalicelya
00:02:03
Speaker
And throughout all of this, Napoli, Juntoly, have been in contact. They've used, actually, two former Milan players, Caladze, but above all, Cristian Zaccardo.
Kvalicelya's Skills and Background
00:02:14
Speaker
who advises Chicha Calatrelia and they've kept contact with him and showed that they really wanted him and they couldn't afford him before but when there was an offer on the table, when the price was 10-12 million euros, then they pounced and they did right in doing so. I mean the guy is
00:02:37
Speaker
You know, he has literally everything. I mean, he's fairly ambidextrous. He's good in the air. He's good at doing his man. He doesn't seem to have any weaknesses. And I mean, obviously, you know, I think it doesn't exactly hurt him that he come, that his father is Badri Calatrelia, who used to play for the Azerbaijani national teams, also a footballer.
Highlight: Kvalicelya's Remarkable Shot
00:03:02
Speaker
No, he really does have pretty much everything. And that shot we saw against Napoli, which hits the post. That was unbelievable. I mean, the technique it does to do that. And he does it time and time again. It followed up with Zidanta, the famous Zinedine Zidanta, where he gets one foot on the ball and then turns with the other foot and does it kind of almost like a pirouette kind of.
00:03:26
Speaker
And that was unbelievable. And then with one step forward, he then unleashes this missile, which hits the post. I mean, that's a goal of the season contender straight away, if that goes in.
Kvalicelya's Confidence and Unpredictability
00:03:38
Speaker
But I love watching the guy. Sometimes players come along who
00:03:45
Speaker
just instantly, you know, within minutes of watching them, that you can tell that this is a special talent that's gonna, you know, it's gonna make it all the way to the top. And that is the impression that you got from this guy.
00:03:57
Speaker
within minutes of watching him in Napoli's first game of the season against Verona, wasn't it? And he was already, I mean, he's fearless as well. But from a mental point of view for a 21 year old, he wants the ball all
Can Kvalicelya Challenge Alexander-Arnold?
00:04:10
Speaker
the time. He's not scared to try tricks. He, you know, and he's got a lot of them as well. He's very, he's not predictable. He can go inside, he can go outside.
00:04:20
Speaker
He, you know, right foot, left foot, both footed, shoot with both feet, even scored a goal with his head against Verona as well. And, you know, Cyran Pace, he's already scored four goals already this season. And, you know, ahead of the Liverpool game in the Champions League, I think that, you know, against Trent Alexander Arnold, who obviously is a wonderful player going forward, but he is dodgy defensively.
00:04:47
Speaker
I really think he can get at him in
The Meaning of Kvalicelya's Name
00:04:49
Speaker
Naples. I think that is where he can really cause problems against Liverpool. His name in Megrelian, which is a sister language of Georgian, which is spoken in the western part of Georgia, means, in that language, the word Chwiche means shiny or brilliant. And he absolutely is. He shines like a star so far. And I think his future
Subscription Encouragement
00:05:12
Speaker
is shiny as well.
00:05:16
Speaker
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