Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - The Football Interview

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1:06The Football Interview on the Football Daily Podcast. Hello, Julian Lawrence here. I've got a special episode of the Football Interview for you today. I've been speaking to one of this year's big Ballon d 'Or contenders. I was in Paris last week to speak to PhD and Georgia winger, Vitrak Varaskelia. We spoke all about his journey into football, starting in Georgia to now becoming a Ballon d 'Or contender at PSG. Let's go back to the start. How was it growing up in Bélicie at the time? What was it for you as a young boy? What can I say only? It was about football, I think, everything. Everybody, when we go out, after when we've done our lessons, we just go to the field and play all the day.

1:50So it was school and after school football. Yes, even sometimes we miss classes. and sometimes even in the school like we were telling some some people like you want to play football against us and yes if they say yes we just miss classes and go to play five against five so football was already the most important thing in your life like the center of your life really from a young age yeah actually not only for me i think in georgia totally for the kids like football is really thing that they love the most uh and the time i think for every kid that football was like a dream to play. So that was with your friends and, you know, school and around school.

2:30What was the first time you went actually to a proper club? And what was, do you remember the first like shirt on, training, having a coach? Yes, I remember exactly because I was only playing in the streets with my friends and my father was a player and like they told him to, maybe it will be good to go now to train with some team. And it was like really, really small team. And after that, I moved to another academy. After to another academy. I think it was when I was 12, I already signed my first contract. Okay. So your dad was a pro. How was that like? Was he like an idol for you? Was he a mentor?

3:13Was he a bit of a coach? Was he a bit of everything? Yeah, in the start, he was my idol because I didn't have like... At the time, it was not like YouTube, you can search your father and watch. and I remember my mom had like, I don't know how they call it, DVD. Yeah. You can put the tape and you can watch. And always I was watching my father's videos and I was in shock, like, wow. And every time when I speak with my friends and they ask me like, who is for you the best player? I say my father. He was for me better than Messi, Ronaldo, everybody. you know. And after a little bit of time I realized how far this guy was.

3:54But yeah, actually my father was a really, really good player and I was proud very much. Did he start coaching you as well a bit or giving you advice? Like after the game he never spoke with me to say some mistakes because they wanted me to learn from the mistakes and never we were spoken about mistakes. He was telling me that I can do something better, only this, and to eat good, sleep good, and positive things only. You're one of the best dribblers in the world now, one of the best wingers in the world. Was that always your position and was that pace and the dribbling always part of your game?

4:32In one game, I was right back in Dynamo Police Academy and I take the ball and I think I dribbled like six players and I was like one against one to the goalkeeper and I miss. And it was like after that, my coach told me, you will play winger. And after that, I was winger all the time. So you never wanted to play another position? That left winger especially to come inside? Yeah, I think all the time I was right or left winger all the time. And maybe sometimes I was playing in the midfield like number 10 and something like that. But I think totally I was left winger everywhere. I guess there would be two key moments in your career.

5:14maybe the move to Napoli and then the move obviously here to Paris. Would you agree with that? I always wanted to play in Europe to perform at the highest level because it's really good when you see what you can achieve. When I was playing in Russia, my dream was to play in Europe in a big team. When I moved to the Napoli, it really came for me and I told myself like like now you have chance to show everybody that you deserve this and of course after moving to PSG it was another step to the forward because PSG is one of the best team in football history so when they told me their project the the way they were watching me I say to my agent to my father like don't even speak with other team I just moving there I knew that I can be successful in this team.

6:12Tell me what Luis Enrique has done for you as a player and for your career since you've been working with him. I think I learned many things. Maybe with this knowledge I can be coach even now because to be with him, it's like every day you learn something. Every day mentally, physically, psychologically you are like another person because he gives you lessons every time. With this coach, I think you just have to listen and do things what he's telling you and just give 100 % on the pitch. When you think about your journey from Zbillisi here to PSG, to the Champions League, to being a Ballon d 'Or contender, what do you think about when you look back at it?

6:53I think it was impossible for me to even be like, to play in national team in Georgia. It was like very far for me. And I think every kid is the same in the start. But when you start working and step by step, when you see things, everything is clear, you can achieve it. What would it mean for you personally if you win the Ballon d 'Or and for Georgian football as well as a whole? I think for the big nations, football, it's really difficult to understand what it would mean for the small country. because it's like something that is very far, it's impossible. But I'm really proud that I'm one of the contenders and to be with these extraordinary players, it's a pleasure.

7:46And of course I will be the happiest guy because I want to make my family, my country proud. And just last one, can you do three in a row? Can you win the Champions League three years in a row? Everything is possible. I think even in the first time it was difficult to understand that we can win the first time, but we did it. It was difficult to win back to back, but we did it. So everything is possible in football if you are hungry all the time. And I think this team has the capability to win everything as possible. So I think we can do everything.

8:28With 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds. Hear all the live, exciting action from the WSL. And it's bigger and better than ever before. Get all the latest news and interviews from the biggest stars of the women's game. Alexa Bates, welcome to the Women's Football Weekly. I love competition, I love football, I love training, I love to improve. To win a league like the WSL, you have to be at your best every single week. Listen with the BBC Sounds app.

9:23collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be destroyed. This is World of Secrets, catching my teacher. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app, or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. You