“The New York Times” publishes an extensive article about Napoli’s Georgian football player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

“European soccer’s breakout star looks briefly uneasy. It is not the setting. That is just about perfect: He is leaning on a wrought-iron railing on the terrace of the Grand Hotel Parker’s, all cut-glass, belle epoque elegance, the city of Naples spilling out to the sea beneath him.

Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia reveals the first things Luciano Spalletti told him before a €10m to the Stadio Maradona last summer: “It was a good talk…”

The Georgia international has taken Serie A by storm with 13 goals and 15 assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.

He was almost unknown when the Partenopei secured his signature in the summer and in the space of a few months, he’s become one of the most wanted footballers in Europe.

What was his first approach with Napoli and coach Spalletti?

“It was a good talk. He told me what I would be expected to do for the team”, - the 22-year-old told The New York Times.

“We talked a lot about focusing on defensive work, about being part of team play and the importance of team spirit. That is what is really important to him: the spirit.

“Italian coaches are famous. They know how to make players perform”.

“The start was so smooth that it did feel like a dream”, the winger continued.

“But at some point, early on, I had to collect myself, remind myself that it was not a dream, that it was reality, and I had to find the strength in myself to live through it.

I am grateful for every piece of love and affection people show me. I know it is praise, but it is also motivation and inspiration. It is a huge responsibility. I have to prove every game that I can do as I have promised”.

How does he explain such a quick impact in one of Europe’s top leagues?

“That freedom is my signature”, - he said.

“It is something I recognize in myself. It is because I love what I do. When I am playing, it kind of carries me away.

“You play with your heart, with passion, but you also play with your conscious brain. It is more a conscious thing than anything else, based on what you have learned in training, on the mistakes you have made previously, on the options that are there”.

Kvaratskhelia, also called Kvaradona or Kvaravaggio by Napoli fans, has been instrumental to Napoli’s dominating Serie A campaign. The Partenopei are en route to winning their third Scudetto in history, the first one since the Diego Armando Maradona era in 1989-90, with an 18-point lead over second-placed Inter”, - writes The new York Times.