Souleymane Coulibaly

Souleymane Coulibaly
Personal information
Full nameSouleymane Coulibaly
Date of birth26 December 1994
Place of birthAbidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Pistoiese
(on loan from Bari)
Youth career
2009–2011Siena
2011–2013Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2013–2014Tottenham Hotspur0(0)
2013→ Grosseto (loan)12(2)
2014Bari0(0)
2014–→ Pistoiese (loan)14(1)
National team
2011Côte d'Ivoire U177(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:31, 2 September 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Souleymane Coulibaly (born 26 December 1994) is an Ivorian footballer who played as a centre forward for Pistoiese on loan from Bari and the Côte d'Ivoire national under-17 football team.

Biography

As a 13-year-old Coulibaly emigrated to Italy to avoid conflict in Côte d'Ivoire.[1] He joined his father who had married an Italian woman.[2][3]

Club career

Siena

Soon after arriving in Italy he signed for Junior Camp Arezzo Football Academy, one of the best academies in Tuscany. He played in the Allievi Regionali team and after a few months President Umberto Zerbini suggested his name to A.C. Siena.[4] In 2010–11 he played 10 games for the Siena under-19s, scoring once.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 18 July 2011 Tottenham Hotspur confirmed they had signed Coulibaly following his golden boot-winning performance at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.[5] 'Soli' scored for the Tottenham Hotspur XI on his debut against Brighton and Hove Albion in Algarve.

Coulibaly then scored twice in a 7–1 win for Spurs youth over Inter Milan in their second group game of the NextGen Tournament on 31 August 2011. He also opened the scoring in their third group game away at PSV Eindhoven, where they won 2–1. On 22 December 2011 Coulibaly scored an injury time winner against Stevenage in the FA Youth Cup, followed by a goal in a 2–1 victory over Cardiff City in the fourth round on 11 January 2012. He made his first team debut as a 65th minute substitute in a pre-season friendly against Stevenage on 18 July 2012.

Loan to Grosseto

On 25 January 2013, Coulibaly joined Italian Serie B club Grosseto on loan until the end of the season where he scored two goals from 12 appearances.[6]

International career

Souleymane Coulibaly began his international career with Côte d'Ivoire national under-17 football team at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup where he scored nine goals in four matches: one goal against Australia, a poker against Denmark, and a hat-trick in a draw against Brazil.[7][8][9] Coulibaly also scored a goal in a 2–3 loss to France in the Round of 16. He is the tournament's topscorer. When it comes to "most goals scored at one tournament" only one other player scored the same amount of goals, Florent Sinama Pongolle from France (at the earlier held 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship), who did that in six matches, not in Coulibaly's four.[10] He scored nine of his side's ten goals overall, which meant that he scored every 40 minutes of match time, or slightly more than once per half played.[11][12][13][14]

As a result of his performances, Coulibaly was linked in the media to moves to Manchester United and Real Madrid, before finally moving to Tottenham.[15][16][17] He has received the label of the "New Drogba" in reference to fellow Ivorian footballer, Didier Drogba.[18][19][20][21]

References

  1. ↑ Yaméogo, Guy-Florentin (28 June 2011). "Mondial Cadets 2011 au Mexique  : Coulibaly Souleymane, phénoménal !". Nord-Sud (in French). Abidjan. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "El marfileño Coulibaly se erige como la nueva joya del fútbol africano". EFE (in Spanish). 27 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Ouattara, Gaoussou (29 June 2011). "Coulibaly Souleymane, une étoile dans le ciel aztèque". Le Patriote (in French) (Abidjan). Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Super Souleymane on a mission". FIFA.com. FIFA. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Souleymane deal agreed". Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Souley Loan To Grosetto". Tottenham Hotspur FC. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "FIFA Player Statistics: Souleymane COULIBALY". FIFA. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "Coulibaly stars as Ivorians soar". BBC Sport. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Côte d'Ivoire – Souleymane Coulibaly". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Newcomers paying off for France, Brazil". FIFA.com. FIFA. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Coulibaly basking in Ivorian limelight". FIFA.com. FIFA. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  12. ↑ Amato, Carlos (7 July 2011). "Coulibaly kid's the real thing". Times Live (Johannesburg). Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  13. ↑ "Le phénomène Souleymane Coulibaly". France Football (in French). 27 June 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  14. ↑ Kobo, Kingsley (12 July 2011). "Souleymane Coulibaly grabs U17 World Cup golden boot". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  15. ↑ "4 July 2011: The pick of today's football transfer rumours". International Business Times. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "'New Didier Drogba' Souleymane Coulibaly: Hearing that Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho wants you is like visiting Disneyland as a six-year-old". Goal.com. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  17. ↑ Gourizro, Giscard (4 July 2011). "Real a dream for rising star". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  18. ↑ Landolina, Salvatore (26 June 2011). "Real Madrid chase 'new Didier Drogba' Souleymane Coulibaly – report". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "Real Madrid jagar "nye Drogba"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Stockholm. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "El Madrid quiere fichar al 'nuevo Drogba': Souleymane Coulibaly". elEconomista.es (in Spanish). Madrid. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "‘Novo Drogba’ iguala recorde, mas França vira sobre Costa do Marfim". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.