Luciano Spalletti was thrilled with his teams performance in their 2-0 win over Atalanta, calling Kvaratskhelia’s solo effort ‘worthy of Maradona’. The Partenopei dropped points last weekend in a surprise defeat to Lazio, but bounced back in style against Atalanta with ‘Kvara’ scoring a sublime individual effort, beating the entire Atalanta backline.
Speaking in his post-match presser (as quoted by TuttoNapoli) Spalletti singled out certain players for individual praise, chief among them the Georgian winger who scored his 18th goal for club and country in what is turning out to be a revelatory season for the youngster:
“We must continue to keep our feet on the ground to try to live unforgettable moments. Competitions must be played, there are opponents who know how to do make us work. I have respect for Gasperini’s work, even this year he is playing an important championship with courage and quality. It is a further reason to pay compliments to my players tonight.
“Kvara’s goal? I congratulate him for the quality of the game he played, he found himself twice in front of the goalkeeper. He always created danger, he scored a goal worthy of Maradona. That quality of wrapping the ball in tight, to kick it into the goal with that speed of execution. When he looks you in the face and comes at you, he becomes devastating, this time you can discomfort the strongest in the world.”
“How are Meret and Kim? Meret sprained his wrist in the warm-up, he didn’t feel his wrist was well and we are forced to make the change. We will have to assess his situation. Kim? I told him tomorrow that he has to train, he told me there were no problems.”
“My Football? I’ve been lucky, I’ve had good teams to put in the things I wanted to put in. We have a greater responsibility to fans, because in addition to our fans there are many football lovers who want to see beautiful matches. Who drag the public to play the game on the pitch, my team also has the chance to take on this responsibility here. As well as giving satisfaction and deserving the embrace of our people’.
“Kim-Koulibaly? They are two very similar players, with this exuberance to recover balls in the open pitch. Sometimes Koulibaly looked like he was overconfident because he was so convinced of his strength, Kim when he senses danger becomes a crazy thing. Koulibaly was majestic in the way he did things, Kim becomes the executive and reassures all his teammates. Kim has the advantage that he is much younger than Kalidou, and the advantage that if he plays the director for the first time he has made absurd improvements. I’d like to see in a couple of years what he can become”.
“Gollini? We liked him from the start, for his approach and his conviction. He played against Atalanta today, he was told in two minutes that he had to play and he didn’t do anything strange. He was calm and he showed it.”
