Whose crown is it? Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia?

By Ayobami Okerinde

Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen have both been instrumental to Napoli’s success in Serie A this season. The former has 12 goals and 10 assists and tops the Serie A assist chart. While the latter has scored 23 goals and 4 assists and tops the goal charts. They are currently having a stellar season. Kvaratskhelia’s first season in one of Europe’s top five leagues has gone unnoticed, with some top clubs reportedly interested, and he could be on the move.

There’s a popular aphorism in Africa that says, “Two kings can never be in the palace.” This sums up the debate that ensued over the weekend on who should be the new king of Naples. The battle began when the verified Twitter account of the Italian Serie A posted graphics of Diego Maradona crowning Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the new king of Napoli.

The streets of Naples are still agog with celebrations following the Partenopeli’s first league title in 33 years. The Naples-based team has been through it all in 33 years. The team won its first and second Serie A titles in what was the club’s most successful era. The World Record signing of Diego Maradona from Barcelona in 1984 for €12 million proved to be a stroke of genius, as the team won the Serie A in the 1986–87 and 1989–90 seasons and won the UEFA Cup in the 88–89 season. After the 1990 success, Napoli went down the pecking order and was relegated in the 1998–99 season. The team was declared bankrupt in 2004 and was relegated to Serie C. The club’s comeback started after Aurelio De Laurentiis bought the club. The team has over the years paraded stars like Isigne, and Gonzalo Higuain and also once had the trio of Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik, and Ezequiel Lavezzi. These stars failed to win the league and could only finish second, their best place in the league in recent years.

Diego Maradona’s legacy at Napoli is undeniable, and he remains the club’s greatest player. After his passing in 2020, the club renamed the stadium San Paolo, after the football great. With Napoli’s triumph and Maradona’s demise, Napoli needs a king, and there’s a debate on the rightful heir to the throne.

Kvaratskhelia vs. Osimhen Kvaratskhelia’s rise in football is stunning, especially for a youngster coming from a country like Georgia with little or no exploits in football. The 22-year-old Georgian was playing in the Russian League for Rubin Kazan until Russia invaded Ukraine. FIFA at the time allowed foreign players in the Russian League to suspend their contracts until June 30, 2022. Kvaratskhelia left and joined Dinamo Batumi in his homeland, Georgia. He joined Napoli for a reported fee of around £12 million at the start of the season.

Osimhen, on the other hand, is starting to fulfill the potential he showed as a youngster. Osimhen broke the U-17 record at the 2015 U-17 record in Chile, where he scored in all games and a record of 10 goals as Nigeria went on to lift its 5th title. After the tournament, he joined Wolfsburg and didn’t hit the ground running. He left for Sporting Charleroi in Belgium before he moved to Lille in France. Osimhen left for Napoli in 2020 in a €70 million deal, which remains a club record.

Coronation Battle Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen have both been instrumental to Napoli’s success in Serie A this season. The former has 12 goals and 10 assists and tops the Serie A assist chart. While the latter has scored 23 goals and 4 assists and tops the goal charts. They are currently having a stellar season. Kvaratskhelia’s first season in one of Europe’s top five leagues has gone unnoticed, with some top clubs reportedly interested, and he could be on the move.

Osimhen has also garnered interest from top clubs across Europe and could also be on the move. He’s currently the the player with most goals scored in the Serie A by an African.

So far this season, Osimhen has missed six games for Napoli in the league. In the games, Napoli won 5 and lost 1, scoring 9 goals. On the other side, Kvaratskhelia has missed four games in the league, and in those games, Napoli won all and scored nine goals. The stats are also similar in terms of goals and assists. In the games Osimhen missed, Kvaratskhelia scored 1 and assisted on 3. Osimhen has scored three and assisted on two in the games Kvaratskhelia missed.

However, just a few months into his Napoli career, Kvaratskhelia earned a nickname that could have been a pointer to the graphics of Serie A. Although both players have different playing styles and are not related, his skills and moves seem to remind Napolitans of Maradona, and he was given the name ‘Kvaradona.’ Kvaratskhelia has spoken of his admiration for

In a similar vein, Kvaratskhelia is the only player with double figures in goals and assists in the league. Also, he’s won Player of the Month three times, compared to Osimhen’s once. All these, put together, could give him a slight edge over Osimhen on who becomes king. The custodians of Serie A will have to consult the football god on who eventually gets the crown.

One undeniable fact is that both players have been instrumental to Napoli’s success, and when you take out the contribution of one, there’s no way Napoli will win the league. The coronation can wait; it’s party time in Naples!

Ayobami Okerinde is a Public Affairs Analyst.