Salernitana midfielder Lassana Coulibaly sat down with Serie A ahead of Matchday 25 to speak about fellow countryman Seydou Keita, his importance to the Granata, and the club’s remainder of the season.
Fellow Countryman Seydou Keita
There’s only one Malian footballer currently playing in Serie A. Salernitana’s Lassana Coulibaly, who’s from Bamakò, wants to follow in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Seydou Keita. That classy midfielder ended his decorated career at Roma in 2016.
“Seydou Keita was a great player. Especially for Malians, he’s one our best players. After Barcelona, he came to Italy. We all wanted to be like him when he was playing. Even if we didn’t have the same quality as him, we wanted to get where he was and have the career he had.”
Importance to the Granata
Since joining Salernitana in 2021 from French side Angers, Coulibaly has become the heart and soul of the team. The 26-year-old is one of the top flight’s best defensive midfielders.
“I’m one of the important players in this team. I’m not alone but have the help of my teammates on the pitch. They encourage me, like I encourage them too. I think this team expects a lot from me. The only thing I can do, whether in training or a match, is to give my best and try hard. Together, we must put our soul into it and fight, like we did last year. When everyone thought it was over, nothing could stop us.”
Improvement & End of Season Predictions
As they seek to secure a third successive season in Serie A, the Granata have appointed the vastly experienced Portuguese manager Paulo Sousa. He replaced Davide Nicola in mid-February.
“We’ve already seen lots of improvements under the new coach, whether that’s on the physical or technical level. He encourages us a lot to hold on to the ball, to play, and to be more clinical in the opponent’s half, to take risks, and be proactive in taking shots. If we as players focus on what he says to us and do as he says, there’ll be no way we’ll be down at the bottom. We’d certainly be in the top 10.”