Laurent Koscielny

Early career

Koscielny was born in Tulle, Corrèze. He began his career at Guingamp in 2004, a team that had produced such talents as Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda. Three years later, Koscielny was forced to drop down to the French third tier. He made 47 appearances for Guingamp, between 2004 and 2007, mostly as a right fullback. In 2007, Koscielny joined Tours FC, deciding that he wanted a chance at centre back. He showed remarkable improvement in aerial ability and positional awareness that limited him to just three yellow cards. During the 2008–09 season, Koscielny made 34 Ligue 2 appearances, scoring 5 goals from defence, and was named in the division's best XI at the end of the season.

Lorient

On 16 June 2009, newly promoted Ligue 1 side FC Lorient signed Koscielny on a four-year contract for around €1.7 million. He established himself as a starter and played in his preferred centre-back position. Over one season at the club, he scored 3 goals in 35 appearances. On 7 March 2010 Koscielny tapped in his first Ligue 1 goal against Olympique Marseille at Stade Vélodrome in the 65th minute in a 1–1 draw. Koscielny became a fan favourite when he scored his second goal with a header deep in injury time against Montpellier in a 2–2 draw after a cross from Olivier Monterrubio. He scored another against Bordeaux after 11 minutes. However, he received a red card 15 minutes later for a foul in the penalty area against his future Arsenal teammate Marouane…

Koscielny was called up to the France national team on 3 February 2011. Before his call up for France, Koscielny was also eligible to play for Poland and initially considered applying for Polish citizenship. In August 2010, it was reported that he had not submitted an application and cancelled a meeting with Poland national team coach Franciszek Smuda in Warsaw on 7 August. Koscielny later declared that his priority was to play for France. Koscielny was called up to the French team for the first time on 3 February 2011, for the team's friendly versus Brazil on 9 February. Koscielny, along with future Arsenal teammate Olivier Giroud, made their first appearances for les Bleus in a friendly match against the United States on 11 November, with Koscielny playing the entire match in a 1–0 win and Giroud coming on as a substitute. He made his first appearance in a major tournament during UEFA Euro 2012, when he played the entire match in a 2–0 defeat to Spain in the quarter-finals but was voted Man of the Match by the French media. On 15 November 2013, he was sent off in a 2014 World Cup qualifying play-off against Ukraine. On 13 May 2014, Koscielny was named in Didier Deschamps' squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He made his FIFA World Cup debut as a substitute for the injured Mamadou Sakho in a 5–2 defeat of Switzerland in the team's second group match. He was then named in the starting line-up for the next match against Ecuador, helping the team to a clean sheet in a 0–0…

In June 2023, Koscielny became the head coach of the Lorient U17 team. On 11 June 2024, he was appointed as sporting director of the club.

His grandfather and his great-grandfather were Polish miners who worked in northern France. He has a brother who is 10 years older than him and played in the amateur leagues and now trains at FC Argentat. His father also played in the fourth division of French football for many clubs before becoming a manager. He is married to his long time girlfriend Claire Beaudouin.