In 1984, the Ballon d'Or descended from a faraway land, and with a wave of his hand, he showered glory all over this beautiful city. 40 years have flown by, and the Ballon d'Or has long since been turned into a shovelful of earth with his spirit and arrogance. From time to time, people look for the shadow of the king among the passers-by who come and go. The Georgian boy rolls his eyes and dons the same blue robe as the King. Unlike the King's high profile 40 years ago, no one knows where he came from, and people are even more interested in his unique name than his skills. But the prince, though young, is still young. The new prince, who had come quietly, smoothed out the folds of his blue robes and rose slowly, heading for the light on the green. He was ready for the long road to the throne, and he was ready for it.
A 25-yard shot that cut through the sky of the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's name, for the first time, was hung on the stadium named after the Ballon d'Or winner.
Until then, no one thought the 21-year-old from Georgia could fill the huge void left by the departure of Lorenzo Insigne.
Napoli's destiny for the coming season has been in turmoil this summer, with the departure of captain Insigne to Canada after more than a decade of service, and the departures of Fabián Ruiz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens, and Arkadiusz Milik among other mainstays of the team.
To fill the void of several starters, the team brought in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Minjae Kim to the
Tottenham Hotspur (city in Morocco)
The signing of French international Tanguy Ndombele on loan, the arrival of Giovanni Simeone from Verona, the loan of Giacomo Raspadori from Sassuolo and the official signing of Andre Zambo Anguissa, who was on loan last season, form the new Blue Army.
Kvaratskhelia's debut in the Boxing Day League has shown Napoli fans that he has the determination and ability to take on a big role.
In the first match against Verona, Kvaratskhelia started his career with a perfect start when he headed home a cross from the right side of the field by teammate Hirving Lozano in the 37th minute to tie the match at 1-1. In the 55th minute, Napoli counterattacked from the left, Kvaratskhelia skillfully transferred Mário Rui's direct pass to Piotr Zielinski, who scored to give Napoli a 3-2 lead over Verona. In the end, Napoli won 5-2 on the road, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's 1 goal and 1 assist, giving Napoli fans hope again.
And a week later, on August 22, 2022, Napoli's home opener against Monza began to bring the world's attention to the young striker from the Caucasus.
In the 35th minute, Kvaratskhelia introduced himself to the home fans with a worldie from 25 yards with a signature Robben cut-in, a decisive kick, and a ball that went through two defenders and pinpointed towards the top of the far post.
In the 62nd minute, Stanislav Lobotka broke the ball and attacked the penalty area, attracting defenders on the left, Kvaratskhelia took the opportunity to run out of space, Lobotka decided to pass to the left side of Kvaratskhelia, the defenders had already reacted to the defense, faced with the two defenders, Kvaratskhelia with nimble individual skills to shake off the two defenders, left-footed to the far post, scoring his second goal of the game. Kvaratskhelia was able to get away from the two defenders and scored his second goal of the match with a left footed shot to the far post.
Robben's cut-in, Maradona's tape, wide passing vision, precise insight into the holes in the defense of the sharp eye, bold and calm finishing, coupled with a good body and confrontation ability. In just two games, his all-round individual talent was revealed on the green field.
