Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ( ka, ხვიჩა კვარაცხელია, tr; born 12 February 2001) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Georgia national team.

Club career

Early career

Coming through the youth system, Kvaratskhelia began his senior career at Dinamo Tbilisi in 2017, before joining Rustavi one year later.

Due to his performance at the Georgian U17 team, in 2017 Kvaratskhelia became the first winner of the newly introduced Aleksandre Chivadze golden medal, annually awarded by GFF to talented young players. The next year he received a silver medal among U19 players.

In 2018, ''The Guardian'' named Kvaratskhelia among 60 best young players worldwide.

On 15 February 2019, Kvaratskhelia joined Russian Premier League (RPL) club Lokomotiv Moscow on loan. He made his league debut on 10 March as an 86th-minute substitute for Jefferson Farfán against Anzhi Makhachkala. On 1 July, Lokomotiv announced that Kvaratskhelia had left the club after his loan expired. Following that, Lokomotiv Moscow manager Yuri Semin said he was very disappointed after failing to agree on a permanent transfer with Kvaratskhelia as Semin considered him extremely talented.

Rubin Kazan

On 6 July 2019, Kvaratskhelia signed a five-year deal with Rubin Kazan. He played his first game on 15 July against his previous club Lokomotiv, coming on as a substitute in the second half and scoring the equalizer in a 1–1 draw. Kvaratskhelia was named as best player of the match by Rubin fans on the official site of the club.

Overall, his purchase was hailed by several Russian media outlets as the main transfer success for Rubin, who saw the player's market value increased five times in a single season between June 2019 and June 2020. Based on the votes among Rubin supporters, Kvaratskhelia won Player of the Month nomination four times in 2020–21, namely in August, September, October and April.

In early 2021, ''L'Equipe'' published a list of 50 best players born in the 21st century, with Kvaratskhelia being the only RPL player to be included.

Dinamo Batumi

On 7 March 2022, FIFA announced that, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, foreign players in Russia can unilaterally suspend their contracts until 30 June, and were allowed to sign with clubs outside of Russia until the same date. On 24 March 2022, Rubin Kazan announced that Kvaratskhelia's contract has been suspended. On the same day, he joined Dinamo Batumi of Georgia.

Kvaratskhelia took part in 11 league matches with Dinamo Batumi, scoring eight times and providing two assists. Erovnuli Liga named him the best player of round 2 of the season, which coincided with the period between April and July.

Napoli

On 1 July 2022, Serie A side Napoli confirmed the signing of Kvaratskhelia on a deal lasting until 2027 from Dinamo Batumi for a reported fee of €10–12 million. He made his unofficial debut for the club on 14 July, in a friendly against Eccellenza club Anaune Val di Non, scoring two goals and providing an assist.

Kvaratskhelia's full professional debut for the club came on 15 August, in the first matchday of Serie A against Hellas Verona; he scored and assisted in his debut in a 5–2 victory. He scored twice in the following matchday, against Monza on 21 August, netting his first Serie A brace in a 4–0 win. Following these games, Kvaratskhelia topped the Serie A top scorers' list, becoming the first player in Napoli's history to score three goals in the two opening league matches. Furthermore, he was named Serie A Player of the Month in August 2022.

On 4 October, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 6–1 away win over Ajax. With another goal and an assist in the return leg a week later, Kvaratskhelia was named Man of the Match, and included in the Champions League team of the week.

On 12 February, he marked his 22nd birthday with a 22 minute striker to give Napoli a 1-0 lead against Cremonese at Halftime.

International career

Kvaratskhelia made his debut for the Georgia national team on 7 June 2019, as a starter in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Gibraltar. On 14 October 2020, he scored his first senior international goal in a 1–1 UEFA Nations League draw with North Macedonia. On 28 March 2021, Kvaratskhelia scored against Spain, followed by another goal three days later against Greece. On 11 November 2021, Kvaratskhelia's brace helped Georgia win over Sweden.

He scored three times in four games of the first phase of the 2022–23 Nations League, and topped the list of players in two nominations, including in the overall ranking. In the remaining two autumn games Kvaratskhelia added two more goals, which made him the most prolific Georgian player during this tournament. ''whoscored.com'' named him in the Best XI both in June and September and awarded him the highest seasonal rating point (8.2) among Group C team players.

Personal life

Khvicha is the son of former footballer Badri Kvaratskhelia, who played for the Azerbaijan national team. He has two brothers, and his younger brother Tornike (b. 2010) also plays football. He has been nicknamed "Kvaradona" by various media outlets and fans. In an interview with CNN World Sport in 2022, Kvaratskhelia expressed that he had been a Real Madrid fan since childhood and his biggest dream is to "win the Champions League with Real Madrid".

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kvaratskhelia goal.''

Honours

Lokomotiv Moscow
* Russian Cup: 2018–19

Individual
*Russian Premier League Best Young Player: 2019–20, 2020–21
*Russian Premier League Best Left Winger: 2020–21
*Georgian Footballer of the Year: 2020, 2021, 2022
* Serie A Player of the Month: August 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the S.S.C Napoli website

Profile
at UEFA

Profile
at FC Rubin Kazan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvaratskhelia, Khvicha
2001 births
Living people
Footballers from Tbilisi
Footballers from Georgia (country)
Association football midfielders
FC Dinamo Tbilisi players
FC Metalurgi Rustavi players
FC Lokomotiv Moscow players
FC Rubin Kazan players
FC Dinamo Batumi players
S.S.C. Napoli players
Erovnuli Liga players
Russian Premier League players
Serie A players
Georgia (country) youth international footballers
Georgia (country) under-21 international footballers
Georgia (country) international footballers
Expatriate footballers from Georgia (country)
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Russia
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Italy