Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgian: ხვიჩა კვარაცხელია, romanized: khvicha k'varatskhelia; born 12 February 2001), also known as Kvara, is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Georgia national team.
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Kvaratskhelia playing for Napoli in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | ||
| Date of birth | 12 February 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Napoli | ||
| Number | 77 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2017 | Dinamo Tbilisi | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 4 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Rustavi | 18 | (3) |
| 2019 | → Lokomotiv Moscow (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Rubin Kazan | 69 | (10) |
| 2022 | Dinamo Batumi | 11 | (8) |
| 2022– | Napoli | 63 | (22) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2018 | Georgia U17 | 21 | (15) |
| 2017–2019 | Georgia U19 | 7 | (15) |
| 2019 | Georgia U21 | 2 | (1) |
| 2019– | Georgia | 29 | (15) |
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:46, 14 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:16, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
Kvaratskhelia started his senior career playing for Dinamo Tbilisi at age 16, before departing to Rustavi where he spent half a season. During his combined three-year tenure at Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan, Kvaratskhelia won two consecutive Russian Premier League Best Young Player awards. Following a short spell at Dinamo Batumi, Kvaratskhelia signed for Napoli in 2022, and in his debut season helped the club to reach the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever, and win a first Serie A title in 33 years, finishing as the league's top assist provider. This saw him named Serie A Most Valuable Player and the Champions League's Young Player of the Season.
At international level, Kvaratskhelia established himself for Georgia in all national youth teams, becoming a key player under different managers. He then became an integral part of the senior team after making his debut in 2019, and helped Georgia qualify for UEFA Euro 2024, the country's first ever major international tournament.