Top 10 Amazing Facts about Football Star Kalidou Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly. Author Genkie40. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Football Star Kalidou Koulibaly

The31year old Senegalese defender is known as one of the best center-backs of Serie A. An accomplished player, he possesses all of the traits of a top defender in modern football: he is quick, powerful, brave, and extremely effective in one-on-one duels on the ground and the air.

Interestingly, in the games in which this defender has played, Napoli has managed to keep a total of ten clean sheets. He became one of the most adored players in Napoli and the Senegalese National Team.

In this article we will be giving you an insight of a player who has been described as one of Serie A’s most solid, aggressive, and bravado defenders. We are pretty sure that in the end, you will have enjoyed the article.

1. The Soccer Star’s Childhood Was A Motivation To His Success

Koulibaly. Author Rizky88. Wikimedia Commons

His childhood has been described as pretty interesting. Kalidou Koulibaly was born in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France, on June 20, 1991, with football being his boyhood obsession. This was against the backdrop of being raised in a low-income household. Both his father and mother are from Senegal. Seydou Koulibaly is his younger brother. In Senegal, his father worked in a textile factory.

Kalidou’s father worked seven days a week and never took a weekend off for five years, to bring his family to France.. His mother, on the other hand, worked as a cleaner.

 In Kalidou Koulibaly childhood, he attended Auriol Elementary School. He has always been one of those boys who had the capability to realize their goals, and that is why Kalidou Koulibaly childhood was spent with hard-working to achieve goals.

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2. He Was A Target Of Racist Remarks On Several Occasions

Playing for Napoli between January 26 and February 24, 2019, he helped the team keep five straight league clean sheets, including matches against Milan, Sampdoria, and Parma. After allegedly receiving racist comments from an Arsenal fan during a Europa League encounter between the two teams on April 12, 2019, Koulibaly was involved in several incidences.

He occasionally spoke out against racism and other types of discrimination in Italian sport on numerous occasions.

3. He Was Involved In 62 Appearances For The Senegalese National Team

Kalidou Koulibaly. Author Happiraphael. Wikimedia Commons

It is exciting to note that, Kalidou Koulibaly has made 62 appearances for the Senegal national team since making his debut in a 2-0 win over Namibia in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying in September 2015, and became captain of his country in 2019. He was part of the squad, alongside Edouard Mendy, which won Senegal’s first Cup of Nations recently.

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4. Kalidou Koulibaly Has Been A Regular Feature In The Champions League

3rd round UEFA Champions League: Kalidou Koulibaly of SSC Napol. Author Original: Werner100359. Wikimedia Commons

He has played 30 games in the Champions League, all for Napoli, since making his debut in a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the 2014/15 qualifying round. He has gone further to reach the knockout stages twice, with the Italian club, including on his most recent appearance in the competition in 2019/20.

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5. He Played 317 Games For Napoli

In addition to the Africa Cup of Nations on the international scene, Kalidou Koulibaly lifted two trophies with Napoli. He featured throughout as the club lifted the Coppa Italia in 2020 and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2014, securing both victories by beating Juventus in a penalty shoot-out. The defender had previously won the Belgian Cup with Genk in 2013.

Kalidou Koulibaly played a total of 317 games for Napoli. 236 of those appearances came in Serie A, with a further 30 in the Champions League, 54 in the Europa League, 15 in the Coppa Italia and two in the Supercoppa Italiana. He made 34 appearances for the club last season.

6. Koulibaly Has Been Recognized Widely For His Achievements

Award. Photo by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash

 A skilled player, Kalidou Koulibaly was named as the best defender in the Italian top flight in the 2018/19 season, as well as receiving the Golden Lion award for the Senegal national team’s best player on two occasions, in 2017 and 2018. He was also named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and has been included in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).

7. The Top defender Almost Has Attracted Interest From Big Teams

Thanks to his performances, he attracted the interest of teams such as Manchester United and AS Monaco in his second season with the Belgian squad.

His performances drew Manchester United and Monaco’s second season with Genk, but Napoli paid €8m for his services. In his fourth season with the Azzurri, Koulibaly has established himself as one of Europe’s most popular defenders.

8. He is Considered Dangerous In Set-Pieces

Centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly is not a frequent scorer, although his strength in the air makes him a threat from set-pieces, and he has netted 18 goals during his 451 senior club appearances. 14 of those goals came for Napoli – with all but one in Serie A – but he also netted three times for Genk and once for Metz.

9. He Has Also Played For The French National Team

Koulibaly could have chosen to play for France in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar because he was born in France to Senegalese parents. He began his career with the France national under-20 football team.

Earlier the player had been selected to play for the French Under-20 national team, with whom he reached the final, starting three of the tournament’s five matches, including the final, which he loses to Colombia.

In the summer of 2011, he also competed in the Under-20 world tournament, starting six of the French’s seven games, losing in the quarterfinals to Portugal, and losing to Mexico for third place in the final. However in the latter years he chose to play for his country of birth. A true national hero.

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10. He Has Scored Crucial Goals For His Club

Spectacular for a defender, he scored twice for the team in a 3–1 win over Chievo two days later, on 14 April 2019. Napoli finished second to Juventus for the second consecutive season, with Koulibaly winning the inaugural Serie A Best Defender title. He had made 48 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions by the 2018–19 season

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