Player Focus: Man Mountain Koulibaly in to Bolster Napoli Defence
It didn’t take long for Sport Mediaset’s commentator Raffaele Auriemma to find a nickname for Napoli’s new signing Kalidou Koulibaly.
Watching the centre-back play in Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory over Barcelona in Geneva, it suddenly came to him. Koulibaly has two Ks for initials and at 6’1” he is a man mountain. “K2…” Auriemma proclaimed. “An insurmountable peak.”
Scaling Napoli’s defence will be a much steeper proposition this season. Koulibaly’s presence has made it taller, more intimidating and a more treacherous place to go for opposition strikers. Il Mattino claims his name was brought to Napoli’s attention through a scouting database.
It’s no secret coach Rafa Benitez has been on the look out for another centre-back. After failing to persuade Liverpool to part with Martin Skrtel last summer, he didn’t get a partner for one of his other buys Raul Albiol and so had to make do with what he had: first Miguel Britos and then Federico Fernandez. Neither inspired great confidence. It was the team’s Achilles heel.
Napoli let in 39 goals last season. Their record was the third best in the league. But for Benitez they were conceding “too many” to be in contention for the Scudetto. Champions Juventus scored only three more goals than Napoli but let in 16 fewer. Roma, the runners’ up, 14. Both of their rivals protected their goals better too. Napoli allowed 460 shots. Juventus 78 fewer. Roma 49.
“For this reason,” Benitez told journalists at Napoli’s pre-season retreat in Dimaro, “we’ll have to improve the defensive phase, but it will depend on the team.” Not solely on 23-year-old Koulibaly. But the €6.5m signing from Genk already looks like an upgrade on what Napoli had before. The analytics they did revealed that he made lots of 'efficient defensive actions per game (2.0 tackles, 2.3 interceptions and 4.0 clearances per game in the Europa League last season) and that he had fewer potential errors in him than Fernandez, though that is not weighted for the difference in league.
It’s clear that Koulibaly has been on the radar of the scouting team for quite some time. “Talks already started in January when Benitez called me to see how Napoli played,” the former France Under-21 international explained at his official unveiling. “Back then the deal didn’t go through but when a coach like Benitez calls, you can’t but be happy.”
Koulibaly had “several [other] offers” but it was that personal touch, the time taken to show a potential recruit where he’d fit in and how he was expected to play [Benitez gave him numerous DVDs], that ultimately made the difference.
A former midfielder when coming through the youth ranks at Metz, he is comfortable with the ball at his feet, can bring it out, pass with both his right and left, and impose himself on the play. That will no doubt have appealed to Benitez, particularly for a player of Koulibaly’s size and physicality. His leap only reinforces the K2 nickname. Having someone capable of dominating in the air will be welcome. Napoli only conceded 4 headers last season, but 6 of the 39 goals (15.4%) they shipped were from corners.
Koulibaly certainly hasn’t wasted time making an impression. With Fernandez yet to return from his holidays after being a part of the Argentina squad that reached the World Cup final, he has seized his opportunity.
In the four friendlies Napoli have played in pre-season, they have allowed only one goal. Fernandez might discover as he did in Brazil when he lost his starting place to Martin Demichelis that he no longer has one for his club. Expect Albiol and Koulibaly to be Benitez’s first choice centre-back pairing for their Champions League play-off against Athletic Bilbao.
It’s early days of course but there’s a burgeoning defensive solidity about Napoli. The signs are encouraging. It’s worth keeping an eye out for Koulibaly. He could be one of the revelations of this season, a player whose arrival was low key but promises soon to have a higher profile. Strikers will find it challenging to play against him, just as seasoned mountaineers do climbing K2.
Do you think Koulibably will improve Napoli this season? Can they improve on last season's 3rd place finish? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
