Kalidou Koulibaly

Early career

Koulibaly began his career playing for his hometown club Saint-Dié's youth team; he spent two seasons playing for the club's team in the Championnat de France Amateur 2, before joining the youth academy of professional club Metz on 1 July 2009. While at Metz, Koulibaly helped the club's under-19 team win the 2009–10 Coupe Gambardella after the team defeated Sochaux 5–4 on penalties in the final. He also played for the club's amateur team in the Championnat de France Amateur appearing in 15 matches as Metz were crowned champions of the league finishing with 107 points.

Metz

Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Koulibaly signed his first professional contract agreeing to a one-year deal. He was, subsequently, promoted to the senior team by new manager Dominique Bijotat. Koulibaly made his professional debut on 20 August 2010 in a league match against Vannes. He appeared as a substitute in a 1–0 victory. Following this, Koulibaly became a first team regular for the side after dispatching the place from Nuno Frechaut. On 15 April 2011, he scored his first goal for Metz, as they drew 3–3 against Clermont. Three days later, Koulibaly signed a three–year contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2014. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he went on to make nineteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Reflecting on his first season at Metz, Manager Bijotat was quoted as saying of him: "Kalidou Koulibaly is perhaps the one who…

Koulibaly was born and raised in France by Senegalese parents, and was therefore eligible for both nations. He played for the French under-20 team starting in 2011 and played six times during the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. However, in early September 2015, Koulibaly changed federations and joined the Senegal national football team, despite the interest to call him for Les Bleus from Didier Deschamps. He later explained his decision, saying: "I don't have any regrets because I want to write the story of the future of Senegal football and I hope I'll be able to do that." Koulibaly made his debut on 5 September 2015 in an AFCON qualifier against Namibia in a 2–0 victory. He was a member of the Senegal squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. In May 2018, he was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Koulibaly played all three matches, as Senegal were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament after becoming the first team in FIFA World Cup history to be eliminated due to fair play tiebreaker rules. In December 2021, he was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. As captain, he became the first Senegalese to lift the trophy, following a victory in the final against Egypt, in which he scored the first penalty shootout in a 4–2 win after a goalless draw. Koulibaly was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He scored his first international goal on 29…

A large, aggressive, quick and physically strong yet elegant player, Koulibaly is recognised for his aerial prowess, anticipation, positioning, tackling, character, technique and passing ability as a defender. He has also been praised by pundits for his overall solidity as a player and his ability to make interceptions; however, he has also drawn criticism for giving away too many fouls. Due to his versatility, he can play both in his usual role as a central defender, or as a full-back on either the right or left flank, in both a three or four-man defence; he has even been deployed as a defensive midfielder. During his time at Napoli, his ability to play the ball out from the back saw him function as a ball-playing centre-back in manager Maurizio Sarri's attacking, possession based-system.

Koulibaly was born on 20 June 1991 to Senegalese parents in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France. His father worked in a textile mill in Senegal for seven days a week and never took weekends off for five years before he saved enough money to take his mother to France. He grew up in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, revealing that: "When you grow up in this environment, you see everyone as your brother. We are black, white, Arab, African, Muslim, Christian, yes — but we are all French. We are all hungry, so let’s go have a Turkish meal together. Or tonight, let’s all go to my house and eat Senegalese food. Yes, we have differences, but we are all equal." Koulibaly says his upbringing was "heavily influenced by the multi-cultural nature" growing up. Koulibaly revealed that he first started playing football, saying: "All the kids were running around playing football with no shoes, and I was really upset by this, I guess. My mom says that I was begging her to go to the store and buy shoes for everybody, so I could play football with them. But my mother said, “Kalidou, just take your shoes off. Go play like they do.” In the end, I threw off my shoes and went to play barefoot with my cousins — and this is where my football story begins. When we got back to France, I was playing every day in the little park by our house." His footballing career began with local club Saint-Dié. He then joined Metz in his first spell but was subsequently released at fifteen; according to the club's academy manager,…