Kalidou Koulibaly has experienced a wide range of cultures in his lifetime and even in his footballing career.
The 31-year-old, who signed for Chelsea in mid-July from Napoli for around £33million, was born in Saint-Die-des-Vosges in the north east of France. Koulibaly then came through the academy at Saint-Die before switching to fellow French club Metz, where he made his professional debut in 2009.
Belgian side Genk then took a gamble on the new Chelsea centre-back and he spent two years at the Luminus Arena, before switching to Napoli in 2014. It was in Naples where he really made a name for himself.
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In his eight years in Italy, Koulibaly established himself as one of the best central defenders in European football. His reputation became so good that, summer after summer, he was linked with a move to Chelsea, as well as other top Premier League clubs.
In July, Koulibaly put pen-to-paper on a four-year contract with Chelsea, meaning he is now playing football in a fourth different country in his career. As well as this, despite being brought up in France, Koulibaly's parents are both Senegalese, so the defender decided to represent the African country at international level. He has made 64 caps for the Lions of Teranga since making his debut seven years ago.
"It was a big, big choice, because I could have played with the French national team, but at 23 or 24 years old, I decided to play for Senegal, because they were waiting for me," Koulibaly said in Chelsea's programme notes regarding his decision to pick Senegal over France.
"I spoke with the coach, he gave me good motivation and good reasons to come, and I also spoke with my family. The most important people were my parents – they told me that I have to do what I want, but when I told them I wanted to play for the Senegal national team, I saw the light in their eyes and I knew it was a good choice.
"When I arrived and I saw the other players, it was like they were my family, because we were all used to eating the same things at home, to speaking the same language at home, so for me it was like I was home! I said to myself: 'Why didn't I come before? They are like my brothers.'
"We had a good dynamic, a good spirit, and when you have that, it brings you a lot of good vibes. This helped us a lot, because in the difficult moments, you need to achieve something."
His dual nationality is something Koulibaly views as a positive. The Chelsea centre-back has even credited his multi-cultural upbringing to helping him on and off the pitch, even to this day, helping him gain a better understanding of things.
He added: "In France we call this kind of home 'HLM' [habitation à loyer modéré, or 'housing at moderate rent']. It's where everybody who comes from a modest family is living.
"All of my friends were living there too, how do you say, chilling out. Everybody was good with everybody.
"There were a lot of Senegalese people and I used to play with Turkish guys, Arabic guys, French. We were all together and this is the mix that I love. I grew up in this ambience and it was good for me, I would say, because I was understanding things quicker – understanding things in normal life, but even on the pitch as well."
Koulibaly has now been at Chelsea for a few months, but as he continues to settle in another new country, he has already seen a change in manager. Thomas Tuchel, who brought the Senegal international to the club, has now been replaced by Graham Potter.
Potter has only taken charge of one match so far as Blues head coach – the 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League over a fortnight ago – and Koulibaly was left on the bench. The former Napoli man is confident, though, he will find a route back into the first-team under Potter.
"He did some good things with Brighton, now he is a Chelsea manager," Koulibaly told Le Quotidien. "He has guidelines, expectations. It's up to me to be patient, it's up to me to show that I deserve to play, to show in training that the coach can trust me.
"Compared to this, there will be no problem. We are also in the first weeks, it is normal for the coach to rely on players who are used to the emblem of Chelsea and who have been there for a very long time.
"When I will be at 100 per cent, there will be no problem. I will play again."
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