https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kalidou-koulibaly-napoli-we-are-all-brothers
Another excellent read. Three good snippets below but recommend reading the whole thing.
Another excellent read. Three good snippets below but recommend reading the whole thing.
But first, we have to talk about hate.
The first time that I really experienced any racism in football was against Lazio a few seasons ago. Every time I got the ball, I heard the fans making noises. But I wasn’t sure if I was just imagining it. When the ball went out of play, I asked my teammates, “Are they only doing this to me?”
The match went on, and I realized some Lazio fans were making monkey noises whenever I touched the ball. It is impossible to know what you are supposed to do in this moment. There were times when I wanted to walk off the pitch to make a point, but then I told myself that this is exactly what they want. I remember thinking to myself, “Why do they do this? Because I am black? Is it not normal to be a black guy in this world?”
You are just playing the game you love, like you have done a thousand times before. You feel hurt. You feel insulted. Honestly, it gets to a point where you feel practically ashamed of yourself.
After a while, the referee, Mr. Irrati, stopped the match. He came running over to me, and he said, “Kalidou, I’m with you, don’t worry. Let’s stop these chants. If you don’t want to finish the game, let me know.”
I thought this was very brave of him. But I told him that I wanted to finish the match. They made an announcement to the fans, and after three minutes, we started playing again. But the chants did not stop.
At the final whistle, I was walking to the tunnel, and I was very, very angry. But then I remembered something important. Before the match, there was a little mascot boy who walked with me to the pitch, holding my hand. He asked if he could have my jersey. I promised that I would give it to him after the match. So I turned around and went looking for him. I found him in the stands and gave him my shirt. And guess what’s the first thing he said to me?
“I am very sorry for what happened.”
This really affected me a lot. This little guy was apologizing for I don’t know how many grown men. And this was the first thing he thinks about — how I was feeling.
I told him, “It doesn’t matter. Thank you. Ciao.”
When I arrived for my medical, I was very nervous, because I didn’t speak any Italian yet. I was greeted by the chairman, Mr. De Laurentiis, in the hallway.
And I think this says everything about Napoli and the club.
He’s looking at me kind of funny, and he says, “Oh, you’re Koulibaly?”
I say, “Yes, I am Koulibaly.”
He says, “But you’re not tall? Aren’t you 1.92 meters?”
I say, “No, Mr. President, I am 1.86 meters.”
He says, “Damn! It is written everywhere that you are 1.92! I am going to have to speak to Genk and get some money back!”
I say, “It’s alright, Mr. President, you pay the full amount. I will give every centimeter back to you on the field, don’t worry.”
He liked that a lot. He was laughing and he said, “O.K., O.K., you are welcome here in Napoli, Koulibaly. You are welcome.”
After my medical, Rafa took me out to lunch, and the first thing he did after we sat down, before we even got the menus, he took all the wine glasses from the other tables. He was laying them out on the table and sliding them around. I am thinking, What is he doing? Is he mad?
He said, “O.K., now I show you the tactics.”
The waiter comes over, and the Mister is pushing the glasses everywhere, saying, “This is how we play. You go here, then you go there. Do you understand? Now, you must do two things very quickly: You must understand these tactics, and you must learn Italian.”
I said, “O.K., boss, O.K.”
When I returned from a little vacation, Rafa shut me in a room with the head of video analysis, and he was showing me all of my best plays. Sensational passes, dribbling, sliding tackles.
He says, “This, this and this?”
I say, “Yes? It’s good, no?”
He says, “Don’t do this shit anymore.”
I say, “But I won the ball back!”
It’s hard to translate the next part, but he says, “This is ass! You won it back because of your strength. If your opponent was smarter, you would be in trouble.”
Then he shows me this other video. Very boring. Normal plays.
He’s smiling and he says, “Yes! This is good. This is very good.”
I say, “But, sir, these are simple plays.”
He says, “Yes, Kouli, exactly.”
This says everything about my experience here. When I arrived in Italy, I was a boy. I became a better footballer, because I learned top-level tactics. They are so meticulous with the tactics here. But the most important thing is that I also became a family man and a real Neapolitan.
