Chelsea Star Kalidou Koulibaly Shares Heartwarming Diversity Story About Napoli

Chelsea Star Kalidou Koulibaly Shares Heartwarming Diversity Story About Napoli

Lukman Mumuni
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM
In this article:
CAF Africa Cup of Nations logo
CAF AFCON
Africa
English Premier League logo
ENG Premier League
England
Italian Serie A logo
ITA Serie A
Italy
FIFA World Cup logo
FIFA World Cup
International
  • Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly has praised Napoli for their diversity
  • The Chelsea defender encountered several moments of racial acts during his time in Italy
  • Koulibaly arrived in Italy in 2014 from Belgian club KRC Genk

Kalidou Koulibaly has revealed how welcoming Napoli were when he first arrived at the club as a 'black person and a Muslim'.

The Chelsea defender left the Italian club last summer after eight years in the city of Naples, where he helped revive the team as one of the forces in Serie A.

According to the Senegal captain, Napoli understood diversity and treated him as one of them despite the notorious nature of racism in the Italian league.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli, Senegal, Chelsea
Kalidou Koulibaly opens up on how welcoming Napoli was when he first arrived in Naples. Credit: @en_sscnapoli @FIFAWorldCup
Source: Twitter
"When I arrived at Napoli, I was black but also Muslim. And they accepted that. They gave us halal meals. The chef would get up in the morning to prepare meals for us during Ramadan. They understand the diversity there." he told beIN Sports.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ click on "Recommended for you" and enjoy!

The 31-year-old and Napoli collaborated to fight against racism.

Koulibaly is having topsy-turvy campaign since arriving in London but produced a stellar display as Chelsea returned to winning ways against Leeds United.

Meanwhile, a year ago, the French-born centre-back led Senegal to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title. He was also part of the Senegal team that reached the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar.

Koulibaly confident of victory over Dortmund

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Kalidou Koulibaly remains confident Chelsea will progress to the next stage of the UEFA Champions League despite a first leg defeat to Dortmund in Germany.

The Blues lost narrowly to the Bundesliga side after Karim Adeyemi netted the winner for Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park.

Chelsea will welcome Dortmund at Stamford Bridge in three weeks' time for the second leg of the round of 16 clash.

Potter praises defender

Graham Potter saved his job after guiding Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Leeds United in a hard-fought match at Stamford Bridge, thanks to a Wesley Fofana header in the 52nd minute.

The Chelsea boss was reportedly given two games ultimatum to turn around the result or face the sack. It was not the best game for the Blues, but the result was all that mattered.

£70m summer signing from Leicester City, Fofana headed home Ben Chilwell's corner and also produced a masterful performance in defence to help the Blues secure the win.

Authors
Lukman Mumuni photo
Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.
Tags
World