On the opening weekend, Kvicha Kvaratshkelia opened Napoli’s account by scoring his first goal for the club in a 5-2 win at the Stadio Bentegodi. Last Sunday, he scored a brace in his Stadio Maradona debut, as Napoli trounced Monza 4-0.
Our new boy joins three other Napoli players who netted in each of their first two matches: Edinson Cavani and José Maria Callejón, who we all know went on to have legendary careers, and (believe it or not) Lorenzo Tonelli, who debuted midway through his first season with Napoli and only scored one more goal for gli azzurri in his career.
Cavani and Callejon went on to score in their third matches as well, so a goal against Fiorentina this weekend at the Franchi would have Kvara join elite company. But can we already view this debut as the most prolific of all who donned the azzurri shirt? What makes the emerging star’s first two performances stand out more than those of other Napoli greats?
Answer: Kvaratskhelia scored 3 goals and added 1 assist in only 138 minutes of play. That’s a goal every 46 minutes and a goal contribution every 34.5 minutes! Cavani played 261 minutes in his first three matches, scoring 3 goals and adding no assists – a goal contribution every 87 minutes.
Callejón, who also failed to collect an assist, scored three over 211 minutes, for an average goal contribution every 70 minutes and 20 seconds. Meanwhile, Tonelli played the full 90 minutes in each of his first 3 matches, so his two goals came every 135 minutes.
No other Napoli player has had more of an impact over their first two appearances than “Kvaradona.” A goal in Florence on Sunday would see him surpass the others in numbers alone, but the accomplishments may not stop there.
On Tuesday, La Gazzetta Dello Sport showcased Kvaratskhelia’s amazing start with a graphic of 12 players who had similar stats through their first two Serie A matches. Only Roma’s Rodolfo Volk and Torino’s Toni Polster scored more goals than Kvara in the same time frame. The Italian and Austrian forwards each scored one in their debut and three in their second.
Volk is one of the most prolific scorers in Roma’s history and is remembered for being the first player to score in an official match for the giallorossi. He debuted for Roma in 1929/30 – the first Serie A season – and went on to score a fifth goal in his third match as well. Polster began his Serie A career with Torino in 1987/88 and achieved the same feat while being 78 days younger than Volk, making him Gazzetta’s top choice.
Along with Kvaratskhelia, nine other players scored three goals in their first two matches:
- Francesco Cergoli for Torino in 1940/41;
- Michael Laudrup for Lazio 1983/84;
- Franck Kessié for Atalanta in 2016/17;
- Natale Masera for Pro Patria in 1930/31;
- Mauro Zarate for Lazio in 2008/09;
- Kurt Hamrin for Juventus in 1956/57;
- Cristiano Lucarelli for Atalanta in 1997/98);
- Edigo Capra for Milan in 1936/37; and
- Valerio Spadoni for Roma in 1972/73.
Volk, Cergoli, Kessié, Zarate and Spadoni would all go on to score in their third appearance, with all but Cergoli scoring four in three matches. Cergoli, who did not score in his debut, recorded a hat trick in his second match and a brace in his third, making his five goals the best start to a Serie A career over the first three matches.
Both Volk and Zarate failed to score in their fourth match, but found the back of the goal in their fifth. Volk nabbed a goal in his sixth as well, making it six from six, while Zarate’s Round 5 brace put him at six goals in five – a Serie A best through the first five matches.
Aside from Volk, these players wouldn’t really be known for their goal high scoring tallies, while all signs point to Kvaratshkelia bursting through all these records. It’s very hard to argue that he won’t smash those numbers. Full credit to the Napoli scouting system, led by sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, for finding this peach from Georgia!
