Racism in Italy - even anti-racism is filled with racism

giorno

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I find this discussion so interesting because there are many elements to it. I think it's pretty clear that the Napoli fans love Osimhen but it appears that they love Kvara more.
Not really. If anything I would say fans like Kvara more(more entertaining) but love Osimhen more. Nigerian flags are around, Osimhen is more of a folk hero due to how he wears his heart on a sleeve, has been there a while and really took to the city and people
 

Lay

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Osimhen is loved in Naples.


The first baby named after Kvratshkelia happened a couple of months ago
 

Mooza

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Kvaraskhelia has been Napoli's main man for most of the season
Really? He was their best player from august to february.

Throw in his on ball impact on their play is far greater than Osimhen's, similar outputs, Napoli doing well in Osi's absence, the more entertaining playing style, the usual bias towards the creative flair player vs the pure goalscorer...
So De Bruyne is the main man for Man City this season not Haaland.
 

The Original

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What? No. *Your* footballing standard is not the footballing standard.

Transfermarket counts penalties won as assists. So if we exclude penalties scored, total output is 27 for Osi and 22 for Kvara. Not a lot of difference there

Yep.
1. Oh great - for the umpteenth time then, since goals and assists are not the standard, what makes a main man to you?

2. 27 to 22 doesn't make a lot of difference in terms of how a season pans out? 5 winning or equalizing moments provide "not a lot of difference" in the big picture?

We learn every day. :)

Oh, and what would be your proof that ordinary Napoli fans agree with you?
 

PSV

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Does that make any sense? The context is Napoli winning the league for the first time since Maradona last led them to it 33 years ago. If Kvara won some dribbling award then sure. But this is about being the main man in restoring Napoli to the top. Who had the most goal contributions? Who scored the deciding goal? Victor Osimhen in both cases. So on what basis would Kvara be identified as Maradona's successor? Just for having a similar dribbling style (which he really doesn't)?

I won't go as far as alleging racism on the face of this but it's obvious they've gone out of their way to make some point about Kvara being the face of Napoli when he's not merited it.
For what its worth Kvaradona has 7 decisive goals, which is best in the league. Second best is 5 goals, which is shared between seven players, including Osimhen.
 

giorno

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Oh, and what would be your proof that ordinary Napoli fans agree with you?
I go to Naples a lot, I know a lot of Neapolitans - both living in the city and elsewhere -

I also just watch the league in general
 

SilentWitness

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Didnt realise that Osimaradona was a thing.

I understand why people want to link racism because of the history of Italy and Serie A but there is nothing in this. It’s Maradona with the crown and Kvaradona has been a nickname used globally for the player receiving the crown. There is a direct link and he’s been arguably their best and most key player (along with Osimhen).
 

Lay

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1. Oh great - for the umpteenth time then, since goals and assists are not the standard, what makes a main man to you?

2. 27 to 22 doesn't make a lot of difference in terms of how a season pans out? 5 winning or equalizing moments provide "not a lot of difference" in the big picture?

We learn every day. :)


Oh, and what would be your proof that ordinary Napoli fans agree with you?
Interesting point, who had the more deciding moments during the season?
 

giorno

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Interesting point, who had the more deciding moments during the season?
Osimhen had more big moments i would say. More decisive contributions i don't know. Different players, Kvara is far more involved on the ball in their build up and generating attacks, Osimhen is more of a pure finisher but he's genuinely pulled off some crazy decisive goals out of nowhere too. As i said before, it's a coin toss between them for who was the best player of the season
 

Lay

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Osimhen had more big moments i would say. More decisive contributions i don't know. Different players, Kvara is far more involved on the ball in their build up and generating attacks, Osimhen is more of a pure finisher but he's genuinely pulled off some crazy decisive goals out of nowhere too. As i said before, it's a coin toss between them for who was the best player of the season
Indeed it is. I'd argue Kvicha was the main man during the first part of the season and Osimhen the second. Its splitting hairs at this point but the player who was more pleasing on the eye was Kvicha even though Osimhen scored some fantastic goals (Roma for example)
 

Andrade

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Not really. If anything I would say fans like Kvara more(more entertaining) but love Osimhen more. Nigerian flags are around, Osimhen is more of a folk hero due to how he wears his heart on a sleeve, has been there a while and really took to the city and people
Fair enough. Are you in or around Naples?
 

giorno

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Indeed it is. I'd argue Kvicha was the main man during the first part of the season and Osimhen the second. Its splitting hairs at this point but the player who was more pleasing on the eye was Kvicha even though Osimhen scored some fantastic goals (Roma for example)
Pretty much
Fair enough. Are you in or around Naples?
Nope, i want to live
 

Andrade

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Indeed it is. I'd argue Kvicha was the main man during the first part of the season and Osimhen the second. Its splitting hairs at this point but the player who was more pleasing on the eye was Kvicha even though Osimhen scored some fantastic goals (Roma for example)
That's fair. I've seen plenty of references online to them both being 'kings' or 'princes' of Naples anyway so it's not really a controversial thing. Obviously Kvara is more of a successor to Maradona in play-style but VO has some of his spirit. I'm pretty sure he would have given props to both of them if he was here to see this.
 

Rojofiam

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I think it's pretty obvious why it was Kvaratskhelia chosen for that picture, and to my knowledge the Neapolitans really love both of them, so claiming racism here is a big, big reach in my opinion.

Saying that "There definitely is some sort of underlying racism here" is absolutely nonsensical, @UnitedSofa.
 
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giorno

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I think it's pretty obvious why it was Kvaratskhelia chosen for that picture, and to my knowledge the Neapolitans relly love both of them, so claiming racism here is a big, big reach in my opinion.

Saying that "There definitely is some sort of underlying racism here" is absolutely nonsensical, @UnitedSofa.
No there definitely is. While Osimhen is escaping most of the usual stereotypes(lazy, inconsistent, etc) one only has to compare the way Kvara has been talked about vs how Leao is talked about to notice it

It's a bit of a reach to blame that image on racism, but racism likely did play a part too imo
 

Andrade

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Osimhen had more big moments i would say. More decisive contributions i don't know. Different players, Kvara is far more involved on the ball in their build up and generating attacks, Osimhen is more of a pure finisher but he's genuinely pulled off some crazy decisive goals out of nowhere too. As i said before, it's a coin toss between them for who was the best player of the season
It was much easier when it was Maradona, who had all the influence, all the flair and was also the top scorer when they won their titles. And that's no disrespect to the other top players they had at the time.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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If some people in here are disputing Kvaratskhelia not being one of the best players and the main reasons why Napoli have won the league then they are either on a wind-up or have never watched a single game of Napoli.

They have had the same impact Mahrez and Vardy had when Leicester won the league and Osmihen and Kvaratskhelia will go down as eternal legends there
A) Who has done this?

B) What on earth would make you think that on a football forum of all places Kvaratskhelia’s contributions would not be noted.

This is the exact kind of strawman nonsense that pops up in these discussions. No one is questioning Kvaratskhelia, absolute shambles of an attempt to subvert the topic.
 

Rojofiam

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No there definitely is. While Osimhen is escaping most of the usual stereotypes(lazy, inconsistent, etc) one only has to compare the way Kvara has been talked about vs how Leao is talked about to notice it

It's a bit of a reach to blame that image on racism, but racism likely did play a part too imo
This is Kvaratskhelia's first season in Italy and he lit up the league whilst winning it and playing exceptional football, in a team where he is the most entertaining player if we just look at his playstyle and exlude stats (which are still pretty solid). Leao on the other hand is in 6th place and he's not as "exciting" to the casual fan as the Georgian is.

I consider Leao the better player, for what it's worth.
 

giorno

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This is Kvaratskhelia's first season in Italy and he lit up the league whilst winning it and playing exceptional football, in a team where he is the most entertaining player if we just look at his playstyle and exlude stats (which are still pretty solid). Leao on the other hand is in 6th place and he's not as "exciting" to the casual fan as the Georgian is.

I consider Leao the better player, for what it's worth.
Leao was Kvaratskhelia last season
 

Rojofiam

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Leao was Kvaratskhelia last season
I don't think people were talking about last year's Milan team as much as this Napoli team. And still, I think it's simply down to Kvaratskhelia being a really exciting dribbler whilst still being very efficient and not just a showboater.
 

Andrade

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Of course, really.

The footballing standard by which a main man is measured is output in goals and assists. So since you say Kvara is the main man in Napoli, despite having an inferior output, you have to explain how you arrived at that assessment.

Even when you consider output it's clear that Osimhen is being held back by not taking penalties, despite winning a lot of them, which Kvara then takes--which is unusual for a striker of his profile, chasing the golden boot in their league.

So:

A. Considering that Osimhen is by far the bigger contributor to open-play goals, I'd ask again, by which metric is Kvara the main man?

B. Do you think that opinion is shared on the streets of Naples?
I don't think it's true that goals and assists always determine who the main man is. That's quite reductive.
 

SirReginald

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I don't think people were talking about last year's Milan team as much as this Napoli team. And still, I think it's simply down to Kvaratskhelia being a really exciting dribbler whilst still being very efficient and not just a showboater.
Ant see him staying. This Napoli team will get picked apart in the summer.
 

Andrade

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Good point. Pretty much sums up the modern football discussion.

- Napoli wins a Serie A title
- Their star players are from Nigeria and Georgia
- Fans of said players (not the club) argue on who’s better, as if the players themselves would give a rat’s ass about it
That pretty much sums it up I guess.
 

giorno

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I don't think people were talking about last year's Milan team as much as this Napoli team. And still, I think it's simply down to Kvaratskhelia being a really exciting dribbler whilst still being very efficient and not just a showboater.
Unbelievable :lol:

Not even calling you out per se here, just :lol:
 

giorno

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Please elaborate.
You answered to a post in which I mentioned the difference in the way people here talked about Leao vs Kvara by using a perfect exemple of what I was talking about (efficient vs showboating)
 

Pintu

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I don't think people were talking about last year's Milan team as much as this Napoli team. And still, I think it's simply down to Kvaratskhelia being a really exciting dribbler whilst still being very efficient and not just a showboater.
Leao was quite comfortably Serie A’s MVP last season. Pretty certain there was no debating that at all…
 

kouroux

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It’s not petty at all. ‘Despising’ people for calling this out is ridiculous.
Petty or not, you ‘despise cnuts like’ what exactly? Black people that post about a widely admitted racist organisation /leagues biases? Ok.

It’s at times like this people like yourself do the best to put themselves, nothing about this should cause such response. It’s almost as if you’re triggered by the notion.
I despise people who use racism as a justification for things they deem wrong in their eyes when it is not 100% clear to be the case.
Italian football is sick at its core institution but I still don't see any racism in crowning Kvara as they're king, he's closer in style to Maradona, has been more available than Victor.
You don't know anything about me to know what should or should not trigger me my friend
 

kouroux

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I think it's pretty obvious why it was Kvaratskhelia chosen for that picture, and to my knowledge the Neapolitans really love both of them, so claiming racism here is a big, big reach in my opinion.

Saying that "There definitely is some sort of underlying racism here" is absolutely nonsensical, @UnitedSofa.
This is exactly what I mean. If one wants to denounce a real concrete case of racism, it has to be clearer than this present situation. Racism cannot resorted to as the only explanation as to why a black person isn't given something
 

Rojofiam

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Leao was quite comfortably Serie A’s MVP last season. Pretty certain there was no debating that at all…
Sorry, I didn't mean that Leao is just all tricks with no end product if that's what you think. I consider him to actually be better than Kvaratskhelia, but not as flashy, I guess that's a better explanation.
 

HisNameIsEarl

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I despise people who use racism as a justification for things they deem wrong in their eyes when it is not 100% clear to be the case.
Italian football is sick at its core institution but I still don't see any racism in crowning Kvara as they're king, he's closer in style to Maradona, has been more available than Victor.
You don't know anything about me to know what should or should not trigger me my friend
There's even more to it - Maradona was nicknamed "O rrè" at Naples, that is "the king". This 'crowning' clearly refers to chosing his heir. Kvara was nicked "Kvaradona" already before, so pretty much no racism.