On Wednesday, Kalidou Koulibaly gave his first press conference since Chelsea FC purchased the central defender from SSC Napoli. Koulibaly addressed a number of subjects, including Aurelio De Laurentiis’ comments on Tuesday regarding not signing African players. While Koulibaly respects his former club’s president, he also acknowledged that De Laurentiis’ opinions belong to him only, and not to the club or its fans.
“It’s up to him. He wanted to say this but for me, the most important is to respect everybody. I always respect everybody and when I played there I was playing also for Senegal. I won the AFCON with Senegal when I was playing in Napoli. It’s true it was a difficult moment for them when we went to AFCON but we won it and I’m really happy today. So I think just that we have to respect the national team also. Because you cannot speak about the African national team like this I think. You have to have respect like you have respect for the European national team. So as captain of Senegal, I think that it’s not a good way to speak about African national teams but I respect what he thinks. He thinks that the team can play without African players but I think not everybody has the same idea as him in the club because I know everybody over there. I know the supporters and the supporters don’t think like this. I know also some people that are part of the society and this team don’t have the same idea as him. So it’s up to him. It’s not an idea of the society, of the city, because the city is very respectful so I think these words are what he thinks, not what the city thinks or not what the society is thinking.”
Koulibaly also spoke about two ex-Napoli players who assisted Koulibaly in his move to Chelsea. The first was Gianfranco Zola, who also introduced Koulibaly to John Terry so that the Senegal international could ask the Chelsea legend to wear his number 26.
“Speaking with the team manager he told me some numbers and he didn’t tell me the 26. And I asked him for the 26. I did my research before and I saw that John left it in 2017 and nobody took it from that time. So I was a bit asking myself, ‘is it retired or maybe no one wanted to take it?’. So I asked Gianfranco Zola, who was a player for Chelsea also, who I know very well because we have the same person working for us for our business in Italy. I talked to him because he told me the story of Chelsea. I have to know everything when I come somewhere so I asked him a lot of questions, about the club, about the structure, about the supporters. And I asked him for the number for John because I wanted to ask him for the jersey. And he gave me directly the number. And I called him. At the beginning he didn’t believe it was me. He thought it was a joke so he put down the phone and called first the team manager to ask if it’s really me. And after I asked him respectfully that I wanted to take his jersey, his number. I know that it’s a number for him that is very important. And it’s also for me a very important number because I took it directly when I went to Napoli and I wanted to keep it for here in Chelsea. And when he told me yes I was really happy because I know what he did for the club, what he did for the supporters, what he did for the city here, and I know that it’s very important to ask him first before wearing it. So I prefer to ask him first and he gave me his answer and I was happy. So, I wanted to tell everybody I asked him before because I don’t want to be disrespectful to a legend of the club.”
Another ex-Napoli player Koulibaly spoke with was Jorginho, who, along with Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, applied some friendly pressure to encourage Koulibaly to join the Blues.
“Of course, of course. Edou is a brother to me. We talked a lot about Chelsea when we were in the national team, like I talk about Napoli. So when we were on vacation, he texted me a few messages. Not pressure, but it was like ‘come to play with me at Chelsea, it will be fun if you come’ and everything, and Jorginho did the same, so I think I have double pressure on me. But it was not bad. It was friendly, because I like them, they are very nice guys. I had some good moments with Jorginho at Napoli. We spent a lot of years together. We won some matches together. We used to be everyday together and when he asked me to come to Chelsea I was not sure because I didn’t know if the owner wanted me to come or not. But he was starting with Jorginho and after Edou all the time was speaking with me. As players with Senegal we won the AFCON together. And when I had the possibility to join him at Chelsea I was really happy. I remember that the last week we were always speaking together to know if I’d come or not and when I told him that I signed he was really happy because our families can spend more time together here in London. And with Jorginho, I missed him a lot because when he left Napoli I lost something but now I’m here with him so now I’m really happy to be with those guys.”
Koulibaly has long been linked to a transfer to the English Premier League. The defender, who’s now 31 years old, explained why he decided to make the move this summer.
“Yeah, it’s true. It’s been a long time that the Premier League wanted me to come. It took time, but I believe in God so I think the moment was now. Maybe before nobody was ready. Maybe the club Napoli didn’t want me to come. I’m not a player to go fight with my club to leave. I have a lot of respect for the owner, for the supporters. And I never fight with my club to go out. But I think that this time was a good time to leave Napoli. I played for eight years over there. I had a lot of good moments with the supporters, with my teammates, with my staff. I learned a lot about football and I think I was to the end of my story with Napoli. So I decided with my family and with my friends to come to Chelsea.”
With the transfer, Koulibaly will have to adapt both to playing in a new city and playing in a new competition. Koulibaly recognizes that the atmosphere in London will be different than the atmosphere in Napoli.
“I discover everything in London. For the moment, I am trying to visit the city, to think about football, to feel the atmosphere of the city. It’s a bit different than Napoli because at Napoli everything was warm. Everybody was talking about football all the time. Even when I was bringing my children to school, I was speaking football with the other parents of the children of the school of my son. But I am discovering everything here. I want to take my time. I want to visit everything with my family, with my friends, to feel the atmosphere.”
He also recognizes that the style of play in the EPL is very different than in Serie A, and it will take him time to adapt, in particular to the pace of English football.
“I have to adapt to everything because everything is faster. I have to think faster, my head has to go faster, my eyes have to go faster, and this is the most difficult for a player who comes to the Premier League. Because in Serie A, everything is more with the brain, more calm, I have to think of every movement, and here you have to think very fast, so this is the first thing I have to change. And also on the pitch, you see the ball is going faster, it’s a new system to me, 3-5-2. So I have to adapt to everything and I am thankful to the staff because they give me all the things to understand everything. They talk a lot with me, the other players, Thiago, Azpi, they talk with me for me to adapt very fast. This is the most important for me. To have good behaviour to understand everything fast. I know that I will need time for sure. I cannot be the player like everybody is waiting in the first game, but I will take my time. I will give everything I can for the moment. And I know in two or three months I will be the one everybody is waiting for.”
