Kalidou Koulibaly was born on 20 June, 1991 in France. He is a Senegalese footballer who plays as defender for Serie A club Napoli and the Senegal national football team, usually as a centre-back.
Koulibaly was born in to Senegalese parents, he was eligible to represent both nations at international level, and initially played for the France national under-20 football team.
Koulibaly began his career playing for his hometown club SR Saint-Dié’s youth team, and spent two seasons playing on the club’s senior team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, before joining the youth academy of professional club Metz on 1 July 2009.
Kalidou began his professional club career with French side Metz in 2010, before moving to Belgian club Genk in 2012. He joined Italian side Napoli in 2014.
He later made his senior debut with Senegal in 2015 and was a member of the Senegal squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He has been named to the side that will represent Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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 on 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.
He is eligible for both Senegalese and France. He played for the U-20 French side starting in 2011. 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 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.
Style of play is around his fastness and physical strength thus making an elegant player, he is recognized for his aerial prowess, anticipation, passing ability and versatility, as he can play both as a central defender.
