Pachulia outgrew his first sport
Warriors center wanted to be a soccer star when he was younger and shorter
SAN JOSE >> Warriors center Zaza Pachulia was no different than most boys in the Republic of Georgia: He dreamed of being a soccer star.
But as he continued growing Pachulia got good advice from a soccer coach: “Son, you’re playing in the wrong sport.”
It was the spark that led the 6-foot-11 Pachulia to trade the pitch for the hardwood. Since then, he has enjoyed a 14year NBA career that culminated with a title this past spring as the Warriors’ starting center.
But before winning an NBA championship ring, Pachulia played goalkeeper for local teams in Tbilisi, although his mother had played basketball.
He was destined to be a keeper because, “What else could I do with this height?” Pachulia said Monday night while making an appearance at Avaya Stadium to support fellow Georgian Valeri Qazaishvili, the Earthquakes’ newest player.
Pachulia, 33, is more than an important role player for the star-studded Warriors. He represents a small country of 3.7 million citizens that is tucked into the Caucasus Mountains next to the Black Sea.
It’s why he came to Avaya to support Qazaishvili, who is Major League Soccer’s first Georgian player.
“I’ve been in his shoes, I went through exactly the same process,” Pachulia said. “He’s lucky because when I first came here I didn’t know one single person. I was 19, and the only person I knew was my agent, who was in a totally different city.”
Pachulia said 10 Georgians came to the Quakes’ U.S. Open Cup game Monday night just to support the attacking midfielder, who is not expected to appear for a few more weeks as he gets adjusted to San Jose and the new team.
“That’s what we do,” said Pachulia, who last week signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal to remain with the Warriors. “We don’t know each other personally, but it’s a small country with a unique personality and traditions. We are here today to make it feel like home and make it easier for him.”
Pachulia lamented he hasn’t found any Georgian restaurants in the Bay Area to help ease homesickness. While the area boasts a large Russian population, it doesn’t have much representation from the Caucasus region where the cultures and food are vastly different from Russia.
“Georgian cuisine is one of the best,” Pachulia said. “I’m not just saying it because it’s mine, it really is. When we go back to visit Georgia, it’s the nature, the history and the food. That’s the top three things. The hospitality from the Georgians is the first thing you notice.”
He also has turned countrymen into Warriors fans. Pachulia recalled how thousands of Georgians followed Golden State’s run to its second NBA title in three years because of his presence.
But the center also understands the importance of connecting with Bay Area fans, something he hopes Qazaishvili gets to experience.
“Football has the best fans I’ve seen,” he said. “I mean that. You win a championship and help this team to the finals, you’ll be loved and respected and wanted back. As an athlete that’s what you want.”
Qazaishvili, who speaks Georgian, Russian, English and some Dutch, plans to embrace the opportunity of changing the Earthquakes’ fortunes.
General manager Jesse Fioranelli targeted Qazaishvili, 24, as a potential gamechanging player for a team trying to end a four-year MLS playoff drought. He comes from Holland’s Vitesse club but spent much of the 2016-17 season on loan with Poland’s Legia Warsaw, which won the title in the country’s top division.
Qazaishvili also is a starter on the Georgian national team who can play both sides of the midfield but is expected to be coach Chris Leitch’s true No. 10.
He “fits exactly with what we were looking for, and that is to have the characteristic to want to go there where it hurts, the zone of the field where the legs are usually at,” Fioranelli said. “That’s where the tension and the defense is usually very present, and that is where we wanted to have a technically very gifted player.”