Qatar 2022: Benítez says Koulibaly is key for Senegal against England

Former Liverpool and Napoli manager Rafa Benítez has said Chelsea star Kalidou Koulibaly is key to Senegal winning on Sunday,

“The first time I met Kalidou Koulibaly something did not seem quite right.

“Napoli had been clever in identifying a young centre back who was playing in Belgium with Genk and we all agreed that he could be an important signing for us.

“We were looking for a powerful, pacey defender and with his height having been listed at 1.93m (6ft 3in), he would give us an aerial advantage, too. At just €8 million (about £6.8 million), the feeling was he would be a good addition.

 “Kouli”, arrived at the training ground to complete the deal. My assistants, Paco de Miguel and Antonio Gomez, and myself greeted him and straight away, there was a surprise.

“It was clear he was not 1.93m, but nearer 1.86m [6ft 1 in]. There is a story that the Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis wanted to reduce the price, but I don’t recall that.

‘’In truth, that did not put us off. Kouli was only 23 and quite shy in a group, but he had a level of confidence about him that I liked. Plus, we knew his ability.

‘’The Napoli sporting director, Riccardo Bigon, had a scouting department that was good at identifying players before other clubs.

“Where we had an advantage, too, is that Kouli was represented at the time by the agent Bruno Satin, who was with IMG. I had worked with that group before when I signed Momo Sissoko for Liverpool from Valencia in 2005.

“We managed to get the deal done and Kouli has developed from the young man who was not very vocal into a leader who has improved, little by little, with age. I am still in touch with him and he sometimes refers to me as “Dad” to other people.

“After his first season with Napoli, he made his debut for Senegal even though France were keen on persuading him to play for them.

“He will be the key player against England, especially given that Idrissa Gueye is suspended. That is a blow on top of the absence of Sadio Mané because of injury. It brings pressure, but he has qualities so will handle that.

“In Italy, he could make the difference because of his pace and he can use both feet. That meant he could play in any position in defence. For example, he played a couple of times at right back.

‘’That technical ability helps him to stand out. Last weekend I was back in Italy and was discussing with friends how he was a key player for Napoli. If anyone made a mistake, his pace and positioning meant he could cover and repair the mistake.

“If he makes the mistake himself, then he has the ability to recover very quickly.

“In recent years, the style of Napoli has been to build from the back and that is the same way that Chelsea, his club now, play.

“He is very good at that, but sometimes because it comes naturally to him, he can put himself in difficult situations with the ball. That happens when the team you play for are superior to the opposition. There is a tendency to play out from the back all the time, but the Senegal-England game should be different.

“England have been very aggressive in their pressing from the front at times during this World Cup, so that is something Senegal must be aware of.

“It was no surprise that he eventually moved to a Premier League club. That was rumoured every summer for a long time and Chelsea have a good player. It has not been the easiest start because it is a new league, a new country, he was signed by one manager in Thomas Tuchel and now another one, Graham Potter, has taken over.

“For Napoli, it was another great deal. They sold him for £33 million which was a huge profit after eight years of service and that has been how they have done a lot of business in recent seasons.

‘’Gonzalo Higuaín, Jorginho, Allan are some other examples of players who have been sold for big money and that has allowed the club to move on to another level as we see this season. They are top of Serie A.

‘’I can always remember that after each training session, Kouli and Antonio, my assistant, would stay on the pitch and try the crossbar challenge. Antonio would win most times which always left him laughing.

‘’But England should not take too much heart from that.

‘’During my two seasons at Napoli, we won two trophies. The Coppa Italia, beating Fiorentina, a few weeks before Kouli signed, and then he played against Juventus in the Italian Supercup at the start of the next season.

‘’We drew 2-2 and the game went to penalties. Kouli scored the winning kick. The venue? Doha in Qatar.”