INTERVIEW WITH NUGZAR KVIRTIYA: THE FOUNDER OF THE FIRST FREESTYLE- AND PANNA SCHOOL IN AZERBAIJAN

Freestyle and panna football is becoming more and more populair in the world. One of the countries where the sport is growing is Azerbaijan. Tomorrow the first freestyle and panna school will be launched in the capital Baku! We contacted the founder Nugzar Kvirtiya to hear the whole story behind this.

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Nugzar Kvirtiya i’m 34 y/o currently live in Baku (Azerbaijan). I’m ex professional football player. I have played in Premier League in 4 different countries (Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Tunisia) and UEFA Europa League as well. After the war in my country in 1992 (Georgia) i moved with my family to Moscow (Russia) and i grow up there. My father was professional footballer and in age 34 he retire from big football because of war. So i start to play football in Moscow.

How and when did you start with freestyle and panna?

It was like 2005 or 2006, and I recorded a video that got a couple thousand views in just one night, on this video i repeat the tricks of Ronaldinho I got a little famous. I deleted it right after because I didn’t think it was that good, but someone re-uploaded it around 2008.

How did you came to the idea to open a freestyle and panna club in Azerbaijan?

Azerbaijan players love technical football. They don’t like running or playing too physically. They like panna almost too much — they’ll do it anywhere, on the streets or on the pitch. Everyone is trying to do some type of skills. I think it’s because it’s so hot here and nobody wants to run that much! Despite the country’s natural predisposition for the street game, there was little to no scene present, save for a few small-sided pitches in which players could rent on an hourly basis. That all changed in 2015, when Séan Garnier came to town. His presence and personality engaged masses of crowds, and upon meeting him, i realized that there was room for a regular street scene that didn’t just pop up when Séan was in town. Also familiar with the Street Madness team from my time in Russia, i consulted Bizex and co. as to how i could start a movement of my own. I grew up in the streets, so I know what it’s like. When I hear stories from guys like Séan Garnier or the Street Madness team, it made me want to bring it to Azerbaijan.

What have you planned for the big opening tomorrow?

After we started advertising on social networks about the fact that the freestyle school and panna opened for the first time in Azerbaijan, we started receiving calls, people are very interested. The main thing is that the weather will be good tomorrow, but in any case, we expect a lot of people. I believe that in time we will be able to cover the whole country. We cooperate with the local Red Bull, the guys help us every way

What can people expect with this new freestyle and panna club?

I open a children’s football school as well as a street football school (freestyle and panna). I want to introduce freestyle and panna into big football as I know how much it can improve quality. Firstly ball feeling, coordination, beat the opponent in a small space. Freestyle and Panna can really help novice football players to be more technical, like Ronaldinho, Neymar has long been known to everyone that these players are tempered by the streets. This is for novice soccer players. But there are people who are disappointed in football, or they are not lucky enough to become footballers, they have a chance to rehabilitate themselves and become a good freestyler or Panna player and adequately participate in the local championship as well as internationally, because this is a great opportunity to realize their dream.

You are also ambassador of Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five, besides that you have your own brand Left One. Can you tell us more about this?

Yes, the guys from Red Bull made me an ambassador for the local qualifying tournament Neymar Jr’s Five, I handed gifts on behalf of my brand Left One and handed the winners a trip to Brazil. I created a brand of clothes together with my friend Adan Coronado, he is Mexican but was born living and now plays in Los Angeles, we played together in Azerbaijan and very good friends, I had plans to make my own clothing line for a long time. We talked and decided to start, we didn’t think about the name for a long time, we both play with our left foot, so the name Left One appeared. These are casual clothes that can be worn with jeans and sneakers, we also offer customers personalization (Name, number, flag) and has great interest.

What are your plans for the future?

In the future I plan to make tournaments in freestyle and panna, I want to develop it in the country since I am the official Country Leader from THE WSFF (WFFA) in street football. I plan to give young guys a good opportunity to represent their country in the international arena because street football is now gaining momentum and how we know that the Euro 2020 mascot is freestyler and I am very happy about that. You can plan as much as you want, but the most important thing is that God should accompany you.