Plays for the U19 of the DFB
©IMAGO
The DFB always has to compete with other nations for junior national players because many talents have a second citizenship. This also applies to the whiz kid Karim Coulibaly from Werder Bremen. According to “Bild”, the Ivory Coast is trying to get the defender. According to the report, the 18-year-old feels very connected to his parents’ homeland.
Due to the injury woes in Bremen’s defense, Coulibaly made his Bundesliga debut on matchday 1 against Frankfurt and was in the starting line-up every time from the following week. In the Bundesliga’s last market value update, Coulibaly went from one million euros to 8 million euros – only six 18-year-old central defenders in the world are more valuable. His good performances ensured that he made his debut for the German U19 national team, for whom he has since played four games. The Oldenburg native had previously been through the DFB’s U17 and U18 teams.
A change of association would still be possible as Coulibaly has not yet played a competitive game for the senior national team. With Can Uzun and Kenan Yıldız, the DFB failed to assert themselves against Turkey early on – in retrospect, painful losses. Most recently, Hoffenheim’s Muhammed Damar and Mert Kömür were also courted by the Turkish association.
With the Africa Cup of Nations coming up in December and qualification for the 2026 World Cup already assured, Ivory Coast could lure Coulibaly with powerful arguments. However, the competition is fierce in central defense with Ousmane Diomande (Sporting), Evan Ndicka (Roma), Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta) and Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolves). A decision has not yet been made, it is said.