2023-12-13 11:34:33
He had disappeared from the radar. Two years of hardship later, here he is again, all beautiful, brand new and playing matches with Royal Antwerp. In July 2021, Soumaïla Coulibaly was allowed to sign his first professional contract with Dortmund, PSG’s opponent this Wednesday, despite a ruptured cruciate ligament four months earlier.
In the preceding months, the young defender had made the choice to leave the capital club to join Germany, like his friend Abdoulaye Kamara, with the feeling shared by many titis that there was no place for them on the professional level nor any project so that the first team is a goal. In the Ruhr, he also hoped to find special attention and that feeling of being considered a professional in his own right.
But the rest of his German adventure resembles a long obstacle course, marked by numerous injuries but also by the arrival of Nico Schlotterbeck in 2022, which considerably reduced his chances of finding playing time. After two complicated and playing time mainly gleaned with the Dortmund reserve, here is Soumaïla Coulibaly in search of a new challenge.
A C1 barrage that changed everything
This summer, Burnley, through Vincent Kompany, was very close to attracting him but it was ultimately at Royal Antwerp that the boy from Clichy-sous-Bois bounced back. Led by Mark van Bommel (coach) and Marc Overmars (sporting director), the club has just been crowned Belgian champion and aims to compete in the Champions League. For the young defender, the project combines the possibility of having playing time and sporting ambition, while being supervised by experienced players like the Belgian international Toby Alderweireld, with whom he forms the central hinge.
In the boy’s mind, it also did not go unnoticed that the Belgian club had offered ideal development conditions to the Ecuadorian central defender William Pacho, who has since left for Frankfurt for just over 10 million euros. Proof that his club attaches importance to him, Coulibaly was thrown into the deep end for the first time during the first leg of the C1 qualifying play-off against AEK Athens (1-0, August 22). Since that date, he has not moved from his team’s starting lineup (except for a Belgian Cup match) and has played a series of matches without experiencing an injury.
The result of work undertaken at the end of his first year at Dortmund, where he had chosen to take a step forward in terms of professionalism, in order to leave the physical glitches behind him. Today, a nutritionist, a mental coach and a physiotherapist support him on a regular basis. Those close to him describe a boy who is gaining more and more confidence and a completely stable private life. Despite this great rebound, Royal Antwerp’s European adventure will end this Wednesday evening against FC Barcelona. A gala match to end well. No matter, a year ago, “Soumi” would not have imagined this.
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