Kalidou Koulibaly Biography

Kalidou Koulibaly was born on 20 June 1991 in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France. Koulibaly grew up in French football with a team like Metz and played for the French Under-20 team, but played for the Senegalese national team because of his Senegalese roots. Although Senegal had a very bitter elimination from the 2018 World Cup due to only one more yellow card than Japan, Koulibaly also showed how reliable and great a defender he is in the world's biggest football tournament.

Maybe that's why many famous football clubs such as

are working hard to get him. Dribbling Koulibaly is very difficult for any striker; He is a terrific and reliable defender on the ground and in aerial duels. It seems his presence in the English Premier League in the coming seasons is inevitable. If this transfer happens, it will most likely break the record of the most expensive defender in the world held by Harry Maguire, and of course, it will be worth it.

The Senegalese defender has all the characteristics of a top defender in modern football: fast, powerful, fearless, and very successful in one-on-one duels on the ground and the air. If the "wall" in English football proves these qualities, it will undoubtedly have the ability to become the best defender in the world. Napoli has managed to record 10 clean sheets in the matches that have benefited from the presence of this defender. Koulibaly has been successful in 54% of ground and air duels against opposing strikers and has received 8 yellow cards and 1 red card so far this season.

Kalidou Koulibaly nationality

 is French/Senegalese and he is known as one of the toughest defenders in the world. Kalidou Koulibaly is a great Centre back and without a doubt, is one of the stars of Serie A. Sure it is not all about Koulibaly's life story as there is so much to say. Stay tuned as we take a look at Kalidou Koulibaly biography.

All You Need to Know About Kalidou Koulibaly Biography

Kalidou Koulibaly was born on June 20, 1991, in Saint-Die-des-Vosges,

, and is now 29 years old. Kalidou Koulibaly is an athletic player. He's a strong header and an excellent defender that knows how to mark strikers and keep them quiet in the game. He gets into positions on time and has a good passing ability. Rafa Benitez is the one who brought him to Serie A from Genk.

He was raised in a multicultural environment. Football was the common unifying factor for these lads. So he decided very early that he would pursue the game to the fullest and joined Saint-Die's academy. His youth was split between Saint-Die and Metz. Metz is a professional club, and he'd debut with them as a senior too. It was a bittersweet moment for him because they let him go as a teenager.

After all, he wasn't as good as they wanted him to be. However, everything turned out to be fine, and he is now a starter in Napoli. Kalidou Koulibaly is a strong character and doesn't let anything get to his head. He plays for Senegal's national team but has also represented France in the Under-20 level. Kalidou Koulibaly is considered one of the best Center-backs in the world.

Kalidou Koulibaly Information

In this part of Kalidou Koulibaly biography, you could find some general information about Kalidou Koulibaly listed down here.

Kalidou Koulibaly Bio

• Full Name: Jakob Koulibaly

• Nickname: "K2”

• Profession:  Professional Football Player

Kalidou Koulibaly Physical Stats

• Weight: 89 Kilograms

• Height: 1.86 Meters

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Unknown

Kalidou Koulibaly Football Information

• Position: Center-back

• Jersey Number: #26 Napoli/ #3 Senegal

• Professional Debut: 2009

Kalidou Koulibaly Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 20 June 1991

• Birth Place: Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France

• Zodiac Sign: Gemini

• Nationality: French/Senegalese

Kalidou Koulibaly Early Life

Kalidou Koulibaly was born on June 20, 1991 in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France.

Kalidou Koulibaly childhood

was all about football. This Senegalese football star was born into a low-income family. His father and mother both are Senegalese. He has a brother named Seydou Koulibaly.

His dad worked in a textile factory in Senegal. Kalidou’s father worked there for seven days a week and never took weekends off for five straight years because he saved money to bring his wife to France. On the other hand, his mother worked as a cleaner. Due to having dual citizenship, he was eligible to play for France and Senegal. But he wanted to play for

. In Kalidou Koulibaly childhood, he attended Auriol Elementary School.

I grew up in a village in France called Saint-Die, where there were many immigrants, including Senegalese, Moroccans, and Turks. My parents came from Senegal. My father came first, actually. He was a lumberjack. Yes, a real French lumberjack. They do exist. But before he got that job, he came to Paris with no papers and worked in a textile mill. Seven days a week.

No Saturdays or Sundays off. He did this for five years to save up enough money to bring my mother to France. And then eventually, Little Kalidou was born in Saint-Die. They picked my name from the Koran. My mother likes to tell a story about the first time we went back to Senegal. I was six years old, and I was a little scared.

It was my first time meeting all my grandparents and cousins, and it was a bit of a shock for me to see how people lived in other parts of the world. 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 that I could play football with them. But my mother said, “Kalidou, take your shoes off.

Go play as they do.” In the end, I threw off my shoes and went to play barefoot with my cousin, and this is where my football story begins. When we got back to France, I played every day in the little park by our house." Koulibaly said in an interview. He started his youth career for the French football club Saint-Die in 1999 when he was only eight years and spent two seasons playing on the club's senior team in the Championnat de France amateur 2 before joining the academy of Metz.

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 in the club's amateur team in the Championnat de France, appearing in 15 matches as Metz were crowned champions of the league, finishing with 107 points.

Kalidou Koulibaly life story

is filled with memories of tough moments and this probably makes him a hard-worker man with a great story.

Kalidou Koulibaly Profile

In this section of 

Kalidou Koulibaly biography

, we will take a look at his professional career from his early days until now. The turning point in Kalidou Koulibaly’s career was joining Napoli.

As a kid,

was a class representative. Kalidou used to play there with the older boys until night fell, every summer evening. Today, in his fourth season with the Azzurri shirt, Koulibaly is one of the most popular defenders in Europe. Pointed to by the best clubs in the world, blessed by Lilian Thuram, exalted by Maradona, "He is the best footballer in the league. If he were white, he would play for Barcelona or Real Madrid."

Kalidou quickly learned what others spent years on. “If he gets something wrong the first time, he systematically corrects it the second time.” He also listened to suggestions from players who, by their own admission, were lower than him. He recently theorized that "you have to listen to criticism to grow up" and admitted to being a perfectionist. Stay tuned to read more about Kalidou Koulibaly Biography and get to know him better.

Style of Play

Regarding Kalidou Koulibaly’s style of play, he used to play as a center-back during his years with Metz, Genk,

, and Senegal. Koulibaly is a defender with strong physical skills, skilled in aerial play, elegant in his movements, and able to restart the action. He can play the role of right-back in a back four or, if necessary, a midfielder, although he expresses the best of his potential as a central defender.

His performance has improved considerably under Maurizio Sarri, who placed him among the fixed points of the Neapolitan squad, contributing to a growth that has made him one of the strongest defenders of his generation. For the British Newspaper Telegraph in 2017, he is considered one of the best central defenders in the world. Needless to say, Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the toughest and best Center-backs of his generation.

Reception

Kalidou Koulibaly is 29 years old star. Kalidou Koulibaly is a man of good heart as a couple of months ago; he was the victim of racist chants during the match against Inter Milan. Following this match, Kalidou Koulibaly had received many messages of support. Starting with the union of professional players, Fifpro, which had joined UEFA, condemn these racist attacks.

In addition to these two instances, several players had wanted to bring their strength to the Senegalese. Cristiano Ronaldo, the

striker, wrote on his Instagram account: "No to racism and all forms of discrimination" Blaise Matuidi had meanwhile called Koulibaly to say "stay strong." Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah told him that "there is no room for racism in football." Without exaggerating, Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the most respected players in the world of football.

Goal Celebration

Kalidou Koulibaly has always been tough and ice-cold-looking as a professional player. Kalidou Koulibaly's goal celebration is not very special. You cannot find many scenes of Kalidou Koulibaly goal celebration as he had no special plans to celebrate at all.

He usually shouted when he scored and encouraged his teammates to go back to the middle of the field and score another goal. Probably his most famous move after scoring was to raise his clenched fists.

 Kalidou Koulibaly Outside Football

Kalidou Koulibaly, outside football, is a very respected person. There are many pictures and images of Kalidou Koulibaly playing football with poor children on the streets to inspire them. He even donates a lot, which makes him an important symbol and figure among the fans. Stay tuned to read more about 

Kalidou Koulibaly biography

 and get to know him better.

Kalidou Koulibaly Personal Life

Koulibaly's wife is Charline Oudenot: blonde, French. She has a charming smile. The two, ironically, were born on the same day and in the same hospital. They start dating at a very young and immediately fall in love. They get married very early, and now the couple has two kids together. Their little boy is Seni, and their daughter's name is Nessa. Charline is one of those rare WAG that likes to keep her private life private. We should also note that

Kalidou Koulibaly religion

is Islam.

Family, Children and Relationships

Kalidou Koulibaly parents are from Senegal. We do not know their names, but what we know is that they've raised a good footballer, and more importantly, a good human. The Napoli defender has been married to the beautiful Charline Oudenot. They first started to date almost nine years ago, back in 2011. However, after just three years of dating, Koulibaly and Oudenot tied the knot in a small beautiful wedding ceremony attended by their closest friends and family members.

They act to secure a promising future for the children because we are shaping tomorrow's society by acting on behalf of today's children. Keep reading to know more about Kalidou Koulibaly biography and see if he has had any legal issues so far or not.

Legal Issues

Kalidou Koulibaly was looking down with his head in his hands, exiting the San Siro pitch and heading towards the players’ tunnel. Outraged, disappointed, and strangely distraught, he’s just been shown a second yellow card after sarcastically applauding the referee for his decision to book him for a foul on Matteo Politano. 

Referee Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni chose not to halt the match, even after the Partenopei defender asked Mazzoleni to interrupt play; three warnings were sent over the loudspeaker to the crowd, and manager Carlo Ancelotti pleaded for its suspension. The incessant racist chanting and monkey noises rained down upon the pitch, leaving one of world football’s stars distraught, questioning the moral consciousness of some humans.

UEFA later criticized Mazzoleni for “failing to respect anti-racism protocol,” while FIFPro also condemned the event as “unacceptable” and having “no place in football.” After giving specific information about Kalidou Koulibaly's legal issues, we go to the next part, the Kalidou Koulibaly career statistics part.

Kalidou Koulibaly Career Statistics

Kalidou Koulibaly statistics are just fantastic. Kalidou Koulibaly signed a professional contract in 2009 and appeared in 31 matches in 2009/2010, helping Metz II to great successes. Kalidou Koulibaly is a professional footballer who plays as center-back for Serie A club Napoli and captains the Senegal national team. Often regarded as one of the best center-backs of his generation, Koulibaly earned a place in The Guardian's 100 Best Male Footballers in 2019, where he was listed as the second-best center-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 immediately won the Supercoppa Italiana title; he also won the

in 2020.

As Koulibaly was born in France to Senegalese parents, he was eligible to represent both nations at the 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 in 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 in the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club

Kalidou Koulibaly has played 417 games during his career so far. He began his career in Saint-Die, playing in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth series of French football. In July 2009, he moved to Metz. Promoted to the first team the following season, he made his Ligue 2 debut on 20 August 2010, entering the match against Vannes in the 69th minute.

After the second season in Ligue 2, in July 2012, he was bought by Genk for €1.2m. He made his debut in the Pro League, the top flight of the Belgian league, on 26 August 2012 in the match against Zulte Waregem. In the second season with Genk, thanks to his performances, he attracted clubs like Manchester United and 

, but Napoli paid €8m for his services.

He made his debut in official competitions two months later, on 19 August, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League preliminary round, played in Naples against Athletic Bilbao, and drew 1-1. On 22 December he won the Italian Super Cup against Juventus, a match in which he scored the penalty. When Maurizio Sarri arrived at the helm of the Neapoli, thanks to the coach's trust, Koulibaly became the architect and immovable element of the Napoli.

In the following years under the guidance of Sarri, Koulibaly reached the high levels, in particular in the 2017-2018 season in which the Neapolitans finishing second at 91 points and in which he scored 5 goals in 35 games; one of these was in the 1-0 header victory against Juventus.

International

In 2011 he was called up by Abdoulaye Sarr, coach of the Senegalese national team, for qualifying for the 2012 Olympics and by Erick, Mombaerts to compete in the 2011 Toulon Tournament with the French Under-20 national team.

The player opts for the French national team, with which he reaches the final, playing three of the five matches of the tournament as a starter, including the final lost to

. In the summer of 2011, he also took part in the Under-20 world championship, playing six of the seven games played by the French as a starter (skipping only the round of 16 match due to disqualification), eliminated in the semifinals by Portugal, and also defeated in the final for 3rd place by Mexico.

In September 2015, he responded to the call-up of the Senegalese national team for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Namibia. He is the leader of Senegal now. Stay tuned to read more about

Kalidou Koulibaly biography

and determine what awards and titles he has won.

Kalidou Koulibaly Honors

The honors of Kalidou Koulibaly are quite clear. He is one of the most successful French/Senegalese players in the world who has won many trophies in Italy. Let's take a look at Kalidou Koulibaly's achievements in the top facts about Kalidou Koulibaly article.

Genk

• Belgian Cup Winner in 2013

Napoli

• Italian Super Cup Winner in 2014/2015

• Italian Cup Winner in 2019/2020

Individual Achievements

• Footballer of The Year in Senegal (2017 and 2018)

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Charline Oudenot was born in Saint-Die, France, meaning that her nationality is French. Her parents are Jean-Marc Oudenot and Christine Oudenot. Kalidou Koulibaly and Charline Oudenot are proud parents of two children. Charline Oudenot gave birth to Koulibaly son, Seni Koulibaly on January 16, 2016. On August 28, 2019, the family welcomed their daughter, Nessa Koulibaly.

Philanthropy

Kalidou Koulibaly has a very close relationship with UEFA Anti-Racism Foundation. The UEFA Foundation for children commits to reaching out to those most in need by turning the fundamental values - such as human dignity, solidarity, and hope - into opportunities f