A genius in action: Habicha Kabazdalia is an extremely rare diamond - voila! sport

Summary: Sassuolo - Napoli 2:0 (Sport1)

On Sunday, Habicha Cabrezadlia will rush to watch the Clasico.

Napoli's game in Turin will end at 17:00 Italian time, the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid starts at 21:00, so there is a reasonable chance of making it.

The hope is to watch the Whites win at the Camp Nou, then call Father Badri, an ardent Blaugrana fan, on the phone.

It was always the funnest feud in the Cabezdalia family - the father for Barca, the sons for Real because of Javicha's admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Leo Messi is an alien from another planet, but Cristiano managed to be as great as him thanks to the investment," the Georgian once explained his choice, claiming that he dreams of following in his footsteps.

Well, he hasn't arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu yet, and he didn't get the number 7 shirt in Napoli even though he asked for it - it was already occupied by Alif Almas, so he "settled" for 77, but he immediately received a comparison to a completely different superstar.

Already after the first match in the blue uniform, the fans started calling him Cabradona - also because they are unable to pronounce his real name, but mainly because he ignites the imagination as no one has done in southern Italy since Diego Maradona.

And this is not at all an exaggeration.

Ignite the imagination.

Kabazdalia (Photo: GettyImages, MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP)

The most unexpected there is

Because such a phenomenon has not yet happened, even though many stars have passed through Naples since the two individual championships won by the team under Maradona's leadership, and there were also those who resembled the Argentine more in terms of body structure - suffice it to mention the short Dries Martens and Lorenzo Insigne.

In fact, Kabazdalia was signed last summer as the direct replacement of the captain whose financial demands were not met.

Some have accused owner Aurelio De Laurentiis of pushing out Insigne - a local boy and an ardent Napoli fan for as long as he can remember.

But in practice, the unknown heir turned out to be an actor dozens of times more fascinating.

Insigne should not be underestimated, and the honor of the European champion in Italy's uniform at Euro 2020 in the honor of the term, but he was a "routine" star, and maybe even a little expected.

Few knew how to run past players like him, cut into the center and send spinning balls into the net, but he did these drills time and time again.

Everyone knew this was what was going to happen.

With Habicha, no one can predict anything.

No one knows what he will do in the next split second, and this also applies to Georgi himself.

His actions are not practiced, but completely instinctive.

He creates works of art while moving.

It is impossible to guard him because he always goes in the most illogical direction - and succeeds.

He is not just a phenomenal actor, but a genius.

Like Maradona was a genius.

A normal star.

Insignia (Photo: GettyImages, Francesco Pecoraro)

Siumin cried when he said goodbye to him

Geniuses need to know how to recognize and appreciate, and this is not always trivial.

In the youth national teams of Georgia, for example, they placed Kabrazdalia - believe it or not - in the position of right defender.

After that he was also a central midfielder, and was integrated into all possible positions on the wing.

Abba Badri, who at the time was a mediocre footballer himself and even made 3 appearances in the Azerbaijan national team, did not object to this at all.

"For him to learn all the roles, it will only contribute to him. The main thing is that he plays," he said.

Because not all the coaches agreed to trust him.

An unexpected young dribbler may discourage and frighten mentors who emphasize tactics and discipline, because they are also unable to control him.

Only self-confident coaches will be happy to give unproven geniuses the stage.

Yuri Siomin was like that.

The veteran Russian somehow discovered Kabzadlia at the age of 15, followed him, and convinced Lokomotiv Moscow to bring him on loan in early 2019, just after the Georgian turned 18. He was the first born in 2001 to be integrated into the Russian top league, and immediately impressed with his unique style, but not everyone was sure about him.

And while Siumin built on him for the 2019/20 season as the team's player, the Lokomotiv management refused for some reason to purchase his ticket from Rostabi and insisted on another question to examine him in depth.

So Kabrazdalia got up and left Robin Kazan, and Syumin said goodbye to him with tears in his eyes.

Today, while Havicha is soaring with dizzying speed to the status of one of the biggest stars in the world, he enjoys telling about this cry.

"I knew he was an exceptional player," he says.

Not all of his coaches trusted him.

Kabazdalia in Georgia (Photo: Reuters)

Putin's war set him free

Leonid Slutsky, the former coach of CSKA Moscow who worked for years with Beavers Natcho, also knew this. He arrived in Rubin at the end of 2019 and was happy to give Giorgi complete freedom of action on the court. There was no brighter player in Russia and more fun to watch, reaching about 10 dribbles per game On average, even if it's not exactly reflected in everything related to goals and assists. "He has no limits.

When you teach a player, you usually understand what might hold him back in the future and prevent his growth.

There are those who are not strong enough physically, there are those who are not talented enough technically, there are those who are not strong enough mentally.

At Habicha, I don't see such barriers at all.

He is great in every way.

There is no obstacle he cannot overcome, and he is destined for greatness," Slutsky said in late 2020.

Soon after, Putin went to war in Ukraine, and everything changed.

FIFA and UEFA issued an order that players were allowed to leave Russian clubs without compensation, and Haviche returned to his homeland for a time to play for Dinamo Batumi and fill the stadiums with enthusiastic fans who came just to see him in action.

Georgia has always been a football crazy country, even in the era of the Soviet Union - and has always emphasized the beautiful style before any other consideration.

The "Soviet Brazilians" were called at the time.

Habicha was born into this atmosphere, and it helped his talent to burst forth without hindrance.

Andres Carrasco, the Spanish coach who tracked him down in his role as the youth coach of Dinamo Tbilisi, testified: "Havica has the qualities of a Georgian street footballer. He's not worried if something goes wrong, but just tries again. He doesn't think about the consequences. He's brash and daring. He He does what he wants."

A legitimate comparison.

Maradona in Naples (Photo: GettyImages)

Kirks beat Liverpool in the Champions League debut

The thing is, this can also be discouraging.

Willy Saniol, a former defender of the French national team who currently works as a coach of the Georgia national team, said that he tried to promote Habicha's move to the big league as early as 2021, but was unsuccessful.

"I was told that he is only Georgian and not Brazilian, and that he will never have the strength to play 90 minutes," he said.

And really, it's easy to understand why potential buyers weren't particularly enthusiastic about a player who dribbles non-stop, but only scored 7 goals in the first two seasons in Robina.

The third season started on the left foot at all, and Kazan was eliminated in the Europa League qualifiers by the Polish Rakov after 0:0 away and a 1:0 loss in overtime at home.

These were the two solitary games of Havicha in a European framework until he arrived at Napoli, so some thought that it was too big a gamble to let such a player replace Insigne.

So in his third game in Europe, Kirks Cavazdallia defeated Liverpool.

Napoli dismantled Jurgen Klopp's Reds 0:1 in the opening round of the Champions League, and the Georgian made fun of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk on the left wing.

No one in the stadium was surprised, because the fans realized in the individual games at the start of the Italian league how special their Cabradona is.

Since then, this phenomenon is only getting stronger.

Habicha provides plays in every game, almost at any given moment.

He never disappoints, and Napoli are racing to an unprecedented season in all terms, even compared to the Diego era.

Summary: Napoli - Atalanta 0:2 - including a beautiful goal by Habicha Cabezdalia (Sport1)

Is Real Madrid waiting for him?

The championship was already practically guaranteed, with 22 victories and 68 points at the end of 26 rounds.

Cabradona scored 11 goals, leads the Brewers' ranking with 9 assists, but is involved in many more moves that led to conquests, and at times it seems that the team's entire game is supposed to flow through him.

Give him the ball - and he will instinctively find the most correct thing to do with it.

His partnership with central striker Victor Osiman is breathtaking, but he doesn't always need the Nigerian's help.

He can do it all by himself.

In the last round came one of the most beautiful goals of the season.

7 Atalanta players were in their area in front of 1 Habicha, and Giorgi abused them all and buried the ball in the net.

And also in the Champions League Napoli is racing.

Habicha scored and scored in 1:6 against Ajax in Amsterdam, and also in 2:4 against the Dutch in Naples.

In the first leg of the Round of 16 in Frankfurt, he provided the assist for Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and in general provided another spectacular display.

As always.

We've gotten so used to it since it burst into consciousness in August that it feels completely routine, but it's not.

This is genius in action, and it should be appreciated.

In terms of pure talent, Haviche is completely comparable to Ronaldo, and he also wants to emulate him, as you know, in terms of work ethic.

"It was hard for me to believe that I would reach the Champions League and play for a big team in the Italian league. It felt like a dream. When I realized that it was going to come true, I told myself that I needed to make adjustments and work differently in order to succeed. I think I succeeded in this task," Cabradona says.

You can't disagree with him.

And he is only 22 years old. If all goes well, and he still wants it, one day the white number 7 shirt in Madrid will be his.

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• Naples

• Habicha Kabrazdalia