Ahead of Georgia’s major tournament debut on Tuesday evening against Turkey, footage of Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pronouncing his name has resurfaced online.
Willy Sagnol’s team begin their Euro 2024 campaign in Dortmund, with their faint hopes of progression resting on the shoulders of the Serie A star.
Aside from goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who plays his football in LaLiga with Valencia, most of the Georgia players will be unfamiliar to football fans.
Add in complexities of the Georgian language and you have a contender for the hardest to pronounce roster in the competition.
Luckily for football fans and commentators alike, a clip of Kvaratskhelia demonstrating how to correctly say his name has been doing the rounds on social media.
Georgia’s fate in Euro 2024 will be decided by the impact Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has in games
It remains to be seen whether Guy Mowbray and Jermaine Jenas in the BBC commentary booth will execute with any conviction.
Georgia’s playing staff might be lacking in star power – aside from the aforementioned Kvaratskhelia and Mamardashvili – but the same can not be said for their manager Sagnol.
The 47-year-old Frenchman was appointed back in February 2021, and lost seven out of his first nine games in a dreadful start. The turning point came in October that year. Following defeat by Greece, Sagnol’s men went 11 unbeaten, which included an impressive 2-0 win over Sweden.
Sagnol, a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich in his playing days, soon earned the respect from Georgia fans. He was then immortalised in Georgian football when he oversaw a nail-biting shootout victory against Greece in March.
‘Qualifying for the European Championship is the most significant achievement in my career so far,’ Sagnol told Georgian newspaper Lego.ge.
Georgia are managed by former Bayern Munich and France defender Willy Sagnol
The side are hoping to make even more history as they begin their Euro 2024 campaign on Tuesday
‘Three years ago, when I agreed on the deal, many people asked me – why are you going there?
‘Now I can say that we worked a lot and achieved something. I’m happy and very happy as a coach and as a person.’