“Actually, this is a funny story. When I was in Belgium playing for Genk, my friend Ahmed was coming to stay at my house for a few days. So I’m waiting for him to arrive from the train, and I get this call from a strange number.
I answer, in English, “Hello? Who is this?”
The voice says, “Hello, this is Rafa Benítez.”
I say, “Come on, Ahmed, stop playing with me. I am waiting here for you.”
I hang up the phone.
He calls me again, and now I’m annoyed.
I say, “Ahmed, stop it. I am here. When do you arrive?”
He says, “Hello? I’m Rafa Benítez.”
I hang up the phone again.
Then I get a call from my agent. I pick up the phone.
He says, “Kouli, how are you? Have you heard from Rafa Benítez at Napoli? He’s going to call you.”
I said, “What?! Are you kidding me? I think he just called me. I thought it was my friend playing a joke!”
My agent calls Rafa to explain what happened, and then Rafa calls me again, and I pick up the phone like nothing has happened.
I say, “Hello, Rafa! Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Hello!”
He says, “Hello, do you want me to speak in English?”
I say, “As you wish, we speak whatever you want.”
So we ended up speaking in French.
He was asking me so many questions — do you have a girlfriend, do you like to go out to party, do you know the city, the players?
I said, “Well, Mister … I know Hamšík?”
The truth is, I didn’t really know the players or anything about the city, but of course I knew Rafa Benítez, and I was very impressed with everything he said.
I called my agent right away and I said, “Do whatever you have to do. We’re going to Napoli.”
There were only 48 hours left in the winter transfer window, and Napoli could not work out a deal with Genk. But Rafa was true to his word, and he bought me in the summer. When I arrived for my medical, I was very nervous, because I didn’t speak any Italian yet. I was greeted by the chairman, Mr. De Laurentiis, in the hallway.
And I think this says everything about Napoli and the club.
He’s looking at me kind of funny, and he says, “Oh, you’re Koulibaly?”
I say, “Yes, I am Koulibaly.”
He says, “But you’re not tall? Aren’t you 1.92 meters?”
I say, “No, Mr. President, I am 1.86 meters.”
He says, “Damn! It is written everywhere that you are 1.92! I am going to have to speak to Genk and get some money back!”
I say, “It’s alright, Mr. President, you pay the full amount. I will give every centimeter back to you on the field, don’t worry.”
He liked that a lot. He was laughing and he said, “O.K., O.K., you are welcome here in Napoli, Koulibaly. You are welcome.”
Even when I go back home to France now, my friends don’t call me “the Senegalese” or “the French.” They say, “Ah, here comes the Neapolitan.”
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