Is Senegal's Koulibaly the best CB in Italy?

Often times soccer fans debate about the best players in the world which usually boils down to either Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo who recently joined Juventus in Italy. This is usually because these players are consistent in scoring goals and matches are won by goals. Consequently, not much recognition is given to midfielders who create those chances let alone defenders who protect the back as the team attacks. Because of that, FirstTouch makes a conscious effort to appreciate the contribution of defenders to the game. In this piece, we look at a certain Senegalese centre back by the name Kalidou Koulibaly and compare him among the best defenders in Italy and the rest of the world.

Background

“Napoli conceded only 29 goals in the 38 matches that they played and the Senegalese defender was intelligent in his play. He was tasked with stealing the ball from the strikers and stifling any threats just in front of the arch and he did just that. He only committed 8 fouls in the process which is significantly low as compared to other defenders like Giorgio Chiellini of Juventus who committed 27 fouls and Bonucci with 25.”

— Tinotenda Magiya, FirstTouch Africa

The Napoli defender currently valued at €100m was born in France to Senegalese parents and identifies as African. He began his professional career at Metz in 2010 before joining Genk, the club that nurtured other world class talents like Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois in 2012. He pledged his allegiance to Senegal in 2015 although he had represented France at the Under-20 football level. He was eventually picked to solve the defensive situation at the Naples side, where he has been a consistent performer since 2014.

Koulibaly’s Strengths

Organizing the defense is part of the requirements when comparing the very best of defenders in Italy. The players have to be great at communication with their goalkeeper and the rest of defenders playing on the team. Kalidou Koulibaly is a leader in that Napoli team and has helped his team throughout the 2017/18 campaign. The best way to assess a defender’s ability to communicate is by looking into the individual errors committed by the player leading to a goal. Koulibaly was not culpable of such mistakes in the previous season and has started this 2018/19 season very well. He looks sharp and commanding at the backline next to Raul Albiol.

Robert Lewandowski of Poland is challenged by Kalidou Koulibaly of Senegal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group H match between Poland and Senegal at Spartak Stadium on June 19, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

(June 18, 2018 - Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Europe)

Besides, the primary role of a defender is to shield the goal and prevent the ball from going in. Koulibaly was exceptional in the 2017/18 season where he led his team to a second placed finish in the Italian Serie A. Napoli conceded only 29 goals in the 38 matches that they played and the Senegalese defender was intelligent in his play. He was tasked with stealing the ball from the strikers and stifling any threats just in front of the arch and he did just that. He only committed 8 fouls in the process which is significantly low as compared to other defenders like Giorgio Chiellini of Juventus who committed 27 fouls and Bonucci with 25. It is clear that the African defender would be the best bet among these Italian defenders because he is less likely going to put the team in trouble through committing unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions. This season as well, he leads the pack in terms of interceptions (6), blocks (2), tackles (8) and clearances (7) in just the three games that he has played. Both Chiellini and Bonucci, the so-called best defenders in the league are far behind the African star which makes us question the criteria used by the relevant authority in determining the best defender in the country.

According to Pep Guardiola, defenders in the modern era have to do more than just defending. They have to instigate the attack which means that they need to have the quality to pass the ball from the back. We also looked at this part of Koulibaly’s game comparing him to the Juventus pair. His ball playing abilities were above every other defender in the league. He made 3324 passes across all competitions compared to Chiellini’s 2196 and Bonucci’s 1951. If that is not enough, he also had the most completed passes pegged at 91%. Chiellini and Bonucci were at 87% and 86% respectively. These numbers are out of the ordinary and it is no surprise that Chelsea were rumored to have submitted a €100m bid in the summer of 2018 which was turned down by Gli Azzurri (The Blues). Kalidou Koulibaly is just quality!

Limitations

Kalidou Koulibaly of S.S.C Napoli during the international friendly game between Liverpool and Napoli at Aviva Stadium on August 4, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.

(Aug. 3, 2018 - Source: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Europe)

The only explanation for being snubbed from the conversation of the best defenders in the world boils down to the fact that Koulibaly last won a trophy 4 years ago. Many debates about the very best include the aforementioned individual statistics as well as the accolades won collectively. His club has not done him justice and he must be disgruntled seeing players like Sergio Ramos win the UEFA Best Defender Award ahead of him when he conceded more goals than him and was nowhere near the numbers achieved by the 28-year old. Maybe if Napoli become more ambitious and stop selling their best players, he might be able to mount a challenge for the biggest titles in Europe and earn his status among the best defenders.

Also, Koulibaly has had little success so far in trying to create a formidable partnership at the back with Lamine Sane at the back. The Senegalese team looks very strong on paper but somehow, they still lack that competitive edge when it matters the most. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they were the best African team at the tournament, arguably the best team in the group but they still failed to make it past the Group Stage. A lot more is expected of him from his national side.

What’s next?

Catch Koulibaly in action this international break when his side, Senegal, plays against Madagascar in the AFCON Qualifiers. He must be disappointed by his nation’s early exit from the biggest individual sporting competition on the planet. Koulibaly will be looking to guide his team to victory against the Southern African team. Senegal currently lead Group A with 3 points after having beaten Equatorial Guinea by 3 goals to nil back in June 2017. We anticipate this to be an easy victory for Senegal.

Real Madrid through to the semis

Real Madrid went into the match with a 3-0 advantage inspired by Ronaldo’s brace in the first leg. That was then, Mandzukic came into the match and scored in the 2nd minute just as Salah did last night. Juventus were out for blood in the Bernabeu and were pushing for more. Real Madrid had their fair chances as well even though a couple of them were ruled offside and the rest were saved by Buffon. The Old Ladies seemed to have the perfect recipe for success as they score the second through Mandzukic again. Real Madrid clearly missed a force in Ramos at the back as the defence looked disorganized and failed to deal with their opponents’ play. Zidane made big calls at half time as he replaced Gareth Bale with Vazquez and removed Casemiro for Asensio. Still, Juventus had the upper hand. Navas was forced to make a save from Higuain’s effort from 20 yards after the player took a shot on the half-turn. The match was intense and saw more than 7 yellow cards being flashed by Michael Oliver who was officiating on the night. Douglas Costa then crossed the ball from the right and Navas looked to have saved the ball before it slipped through his hands and it bounced off Matuidi’s knee and into the net. 3-0 it was and Real Madrid were nervous. Zidane made his final call from the bench and replaced Modric with Kovacic in a match that looked to be heading for extra-time. Little did we know that a big decision would be made by Michael Oliver as he pointed to the spot when Vazquez looked to be pushed by Benatia in the box. The game paused for a while as Juventus players took 3 minutes of the time, protesting at the decision which resulted in a red card being flashed at Buffon. So much for the final bow for the player who is rumored to be retiring at the end of this season. Eventually, the big man had to step over it and finish Juventus off. Ronaldo’s penalty hit the back of the net in the top right corner and Szczęsny  (the backup goalkeeper) guessed right but he could not stop the effort. 3-1 it ended and Real Madrid are through to the semifinals. This goal makes it 10 for Ronaldo against Juventus which means that he is the highest goalscorer against a single team in the history of the UEFA Champions League. Lionel Messi is just behind with 9 goals against Arsenal. Do you think Real Madrid deserved to go through?

Madrid derby ends in a draw

Not much was expected in this Madrid derby as both teams have almost conceded the La Liga title to Barcelona who lead the table with 79 points and Real Madrid with 64 points after the derby match. There was little fight in the teams to make the derby interesting as both teams have their eyes set on their second leg clashes in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Nonetheless, Zidane called on Ronaldo to start the match in a much rested squad that saw players like Mateo Kovacic, Bale and Vazquez make the first 11. Both teams looked off and the match did not really feel like the derby as the levels of intensity was a little bit lower than expected. The first half reflected the poor energy levels of both teams and it is no surprise that it was goalless. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored for Real Madrid on the 53rd minute. The Portuguese forward scored a volley from a Gareth Bale cross that found him at the far post. This goal means that Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in his last 15 matches. What a turnaround in form for a player who was starting to be regarded as finished. His celebrations were shortened as Antoine Griezmann scored for Atletico just 4 minutes later. Ronaldo was taken off by Zidane who did not want to his star man to get injured in a match that was not as important as it should be. Both teams found opportunities to win it as Varane’s effort and Ramos’ freekick was clawed out by Oblak while Costa also saw his shots saved by Navas. This result means that Barcelona have edged closer to winning the La Liga title with a 11 point advantage with just 7 games remaining. It’s all in your hands Barca.

Ronaldo sinks Juventus in first leg

Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show as Real Madrid defeated Juventus 3-0 away from home. The Portuguese forward scored two goals and turned provider to Marcelo’s goal against 10 men Juventus. The defending champions are now looking more like a hungry team ready to defend their title after seeing some poor performances on the domestic front in the early parts of this season. They dispatched Paris Saint-Germain in the last round and have already put one foot into the semifinals with a convincing win on Tuesday night. As FirstTouch Football, we divided the match into 5 talking points.

1. Luka Modric’s performances – The Croatian midfielder did not have the best of games against the Old Ladies. He was at fault for many counter-attacks by Juventus because of his careless passes. It was not Modric’s night as the player looked tired until he was replaced on the 81st minute by Kovacic. Much respect should be given to Zidane for playing Isco in the match otherwise it would have been shambles in midfield had Modric not gotten an extra player to help him in midfield. His performance was typified by his last kick of the match when he missed a chance in acres of spaces from a Marco Asensio cross. We hope this does not mark the decline of an ageing player who has been crucial to Madrid’s dominance in Europe for the past 2 years.

2. Ramos to miss second leg – Real Madrid Captain Sergio Ramos picked up a yellow card in the match after fouling Paulo Dybala and was given a yellow card for the second time running which means that he will miss the second leg of the clash with suspension.

3. Ronaldo – a clinical finish in the 3rd minute gave an early lead to Madrid who were playing unconvincing football. He later on scored an overhead kick for his second which gave Madrid a two goal cushion. Do you, if ever, recall Ronaldo scoring a beauty like this one before?

4. Red card – Paulo Dybala picked up a second yellow card for a stupid foul on the 64th minute and was given his marching orders. This killed the morale of the team who were fighting even with two goals down. The red card gave advantage to Real Madrid who scored the third goal through Marcelo who finished off Ronaldo’s defense splitting pass.

5. End of match – a 3-0 result has all but confirmed Madrid’s qualification into the next round unless Juventus provide a miracle and win with a 4-goal advantage which is looking unlikely.

Ramos sneaks up on record cap holder Casillas

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has been a joy to watch for the Spanish national side in over a decade now. He started out as a right-back but has since converted into one of the greatest centre-backs the national side have ever seen. This means that the player has been called up more often to wear the Spanish colors and he is about to become the highest caps holder for the country. The record is currently sitting with former club mate Iker Casillas who appeared in the Spanish colors on 167 occasions. Ramos currently lies at 150 and believes that the goalkeeper is shaking because he is edging close since he is still an integral part of the national team. Ramos has admitted that the feat could be tough to reach and he is just proud of what he has already achieved so far. He is hopeful of claiming the record with time. Do you think he deserves the record? Drop your thoughts in the comment section.