Kalidou Koulibaly

Location: Gorée, Dakar, Senegal

That's him kicking the ball around in Senegal. His footballing story truly began during one of his visits to the country as a child. He kicked the ball about as a kid, barefoot, in Senegal, and that's what changed his perspective of the game and life for him. (Image: twitter.com)

Here's who you call a complete defender. He's only 1.86 m in height but makes up for those few inches with his athletic abilities. He's a strong header of the ball, an exceptional tackler, gets into good positions, and has a good passing game. We have Rafa Benitez to thank for bringing him to the Serie A from the humble Belgian First Division. He was plying his trade with Genk at the time, having moved to the Belgian side from the French side Metz. Born in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France, to parents of Senegalese origin, he was raised in a melting pot of cultures and races. Football fas the common unifying factor for these lads, and he took a great liking to the game. He decided very early that he was going to pursue the game to the fullest, and joined his local team Saint-Dié's academy. His youth was split between Saint-Dié and Metz. Metz is a professional club, and he'd debut with them as a senior too. It was a bittersweet moment for him, because they let him go as a teenager, because he wasn't as good as they wanted him to be. Everything turned out to be fine, and he is now a regular under Carlo Ancelotti with Napoli. A victim of racist chants, our defender is a strong character and doesn't let anything get to his head. He plays for Senegal's national team, but has also represented France in the Under-20 level.