UEFA’s Technical Observer panel has named Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season. The Napoli winger takes the award after a dazzling breakthrough season in the competition.
Signed in July 2022 from Dinamo Batumi in his native Georgia, the 22-year-old left winger turned heads as his side reached the quarter-finals of Europe’s top club competition, losing out to domestic rivals AC Milan.
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti said of him: “Kvara is gorgeous, magnificent, and delightful. A top player, despite his age. He still has a lot to learn and when he does he will become deadly, a super footballer.”
Kvaratskhelia’s first season in Serie A was stunning too; he helped Napoli to win their first Serie A title since 1990 and was named the league’s Player of the Season. So impressive have his performances have been that he has been nicknamed ‘Kvaradona’, a nod to Napoli’s Argentinian great Diego Maradona.
kvaratskhelia’s 2022/23 Champions League stats:
Appearances: 9
Goals: 2
Assists: 4
Passing accuracy: 74.23%
Distance covered: 76.32km
Top speed: 33.6km/h
