page_title: Kalidou Koulibaly
section_title: Napoli
hierarchical_section_title: Kalidou Koulibaly / Club career / Napoli
caption_attribution_description: Barça - Napoli - 20140806 -
context_page_description: Kalidou Koulibaly is a professional footballer who most recently played for S.S.C. Napoli. He is also the captain of the Senegal national team. Often regarded as one of the best defenders in the world, Koulibaly earned a place in The Guardian's 100 Best Male Footballers in 2019, where he was listed as the third-best centre back in the world.
  Koulibaly began his professional club career with French team Metz in 2010, before moving to Belgian club Genk in 2012, winning the Belgian Cup in his first season. He joined Italian team Napoli in 2014, where he won the Supercoppa Italiana title; he also won the Coppa Italia in 2020.
  As 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. 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 was named to the side that represented Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup the following year, and subsequently helped his team to the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
context_section_description: Koulibaly joined Serie A club S.S.C. Napoli on 2 July 2014 on a five-year contract, for a fee around the margin of £6.5 million.
  He made his debut on 19 August 2014 in a UEFA Champions League play-off round qualifier, in which Napoli drew 1–1 with Athletic Bilbao. Napoli went on to lose the second leg 3–1, thus sending them out of the competition.
  Koulibaly made his Serie A debut in the opening game of the season against Genoa, playing the whole match as Napoli won 2–1. He scored his first goal for the side on 24 September in a 3–3 draw with Palermo. Koulibaly played in every match from the start of the season, before being sent off for a second bookable offence in a 1–1 draw against Sampdoria on 1 December 2014.
  In the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus in Doha, Qatar, on 22 December, Koulibaly scored the winning penalty in the shootout to secure Napoli victory. Towards the end of the 2014–15 season, Koulibaly found himself placed in and out of the starting eleven for the side, as manager Rafael Benítez preferred Raúl Albiol and Miguel Britos as his preferred choices in the central defence positions. In his first season at Napoli, Koulibaly went on to make thirty-nine appearances and scored one goal in all competitions.
  Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Koulibaly was linked with a move to Premier League side Southampton, but he eventually stayed at the club. Despite this, Koulibaly became a regular starter for Napoli under coach Maurizio Sarri, and saw an improvement in his performances for the side in the number of matches.
  During a 2–0 win over Lazio on 3 February 2016, Koulibaly was subjected to racist abuse from Lazio supporters, prompting referee Massimiliano Irrati to suspend the match temporally; Koulibaly later reflected on this as "the first time that he really experienced any racism in football". After the match, Lazio would go on to be sanctioned €50,000 by the league for these racist chants, and were ordered to play two home matches behind closed doors. In a follow-up match against Carpi, Napoli supporters wore masks of Koulibaly in support of him; he played a vital role during the game as he set up Gonzalo Higuaín to score the only goal of the match in a Napoli victory.
  The matches against Lazio and Carpi saw Napoli keep two consecutive clean sheets for the second time during the season, having previously achieved this in matches between 20 and 23 September 2015. Koulibaly made forty-two appearances in the 2015–16 season in all competitions.
  In the 2016–17 season, Koulibaly continued to be a regular starter for Napoli under coach Maurizio Sarri and helped the side start the season well, earning four wins from their first six league matches. On 19 September 2016, he signed a five–year contract with the club, keeping him at Napoli until 2021. It was not until 15 October 2016 that Koulibaly scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against A.S. Roma. Koulibaly continued to start every match of the season, until he sustained a knee injury during a 5–0 win over Cagliari on 11 December 2016, resulting in him being sidelined for a month. After spending two months away from Napoli's first team, due to both injury and international commitment, Koulibaly made his return to the starting lineup, playing the full 90 minutes, in a 2–0 win over Genoa on 10 February 2017. Koulibaly regained his first team place for the side towards the end of the 2016–17 season. He later scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–1 win over Fiorentina, on 20 May 2017. By the end of the 2016–17 season, Koulibaly had made thirty-eight appearances and scored two times in all competitions.
  In the 2017–18 season, Koulibaly played an integral role as Napoli won their first eight matches of the Serie A campaign. During this streak, he scored two goals for the side, netting against Lazio and Cagliari on 20 September and 1 October 2017 respectively. Koulibaly then helped Napoli go on a ten match winning streak in the league between 16 December 2017 and 26 February 2018. During this streak, he scored two goals for the side against Torin
caption: Koulibaly playing during the friendly match between Napoli and Barcelona in the summer of 2014.
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