Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly has expressed his belief that playing in Serie A is the ‘pinnacle’ of any defender’s career.
Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly has expressed his belief that playing in Serie A is the ‘pinnacle’ of any defender’s career.
The 23-year-old has slotted into the Partenopei backline with relative ease since joining from Genk during the summer, and he admits he has been forced to learn his trade quickly due to the competitive nature of the Italian game.
“It has been a big change for me. In Italy, you must be prepared tactically,” the stopper has told Radio Kiss Kiss today.
“For a defender, Italian football is the pinnacle. I realised against Genoa that if you miss an interception, the other team immediately scores.”
Koulibaly then backed his Coach Rafa Benitez and thanked the Napoli fans for helping to make his transition a simple one.
“It's an important season for Napoli. Many players have left and others have arrived, so we need some time to implement the Coach’s ideas.
“The Coach is giving me great confidence,” he added. “He helped me integrate into the team, as well as with my new teammates, and he has also helped me settle in Naples because it is a new country for me.
“I know it's a big club and I must strive to give 100 per cent for the fans. I'm glad they like my style of play.”
Napoli needed to come back from behind to earn a 3-1 victory over Sparta Prague in their opening match of the Europa League group stage, and the Frenchman reflected on their performance.
“It was very important to win at home. The early goal we conceded made the match difficult, but thanks to Higuain’s penalty, we started to play better.”
The Southern Italians lost their previous Serie A encounter to Chievo, but they travel to Udinese this weekend hoping for a return to winning ways.