Elimane Coulibaly (born 15 March 1980 in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
) is a
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
ese retired professional footballer who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
and current manager of
KRC Gent.
Club career
First years
Having emigrated from Senegal to Belgium, Coulibaly first started playing football in the local teams of KFC Oostakker and KVK Ninove. At the start of the 2005–06 season, Coulibaly left KVK Ninove for KMSK Deinze, which played in the
Second Division, where he scored 15 times in 36 games over two seasons.
KV Kortrijk
At the end of the 2005–06 season, Coulibaly joined the
West-Flemish fellow Second Division team
KV Kortrijk
Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk (often simply called KV Kortrijk or KVK) is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division, and they achieved their best ranking ever during the 20 ...
on a two-year contract. In his first season, he managed five goals in 27 games while his club was promoted to the
Belgian Pro League
The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...
. The season 2008–2009 became the breakthrough of Coulibaly: thanks to his 11 goals, Kortrijk managed to avoid relegation from the Pro League.
AA Gent
In summer 2009, Coulibaly signed a three-year contract with
AA Gent. Following a slow start to the 2009–2010 season with few appearances he got his first goal versus
Mechelen
Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
before going on to score 11 goals for the season and thus greatly contributing to AA Gent's vice-championship. Coulibaly also scored the first goal in the cup final as his club beat Cercle Brugge to win the
2009–10 Belgian Cup.
Coulibaly's second season in Ghent was less spectacular than his first. He scored AA Gent's first ever goal in Champions League qualification as his team lost 6–1 on aggregate to
Dynamo Kyiv
The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
in the
third qualifying round
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (dis ...
for the 2010–2011 Champions League and helped AA Gent make the group phase of the Europa League by scoring in their return leg against
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
in the
playoff round
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, but later lost his place in the starting lineup to new arrival
Shlomi Arbeitman.
Beerschot AC
Having been released by Gent Coulibaly joined
Beerschot A.C.
Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...
in July 2012. However, on 24 October 2012, he was released by the club for aggressive behavior towards his teammate
Hernán Losada. Coulibaly clashed with Losada after their team's 3–0 defeat by KRC Genk on 20 October 2012.
Return to AA Gent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
Coulibaly was signed by Gent in December 2012.
Coaching career
After hanging up his boots, Coulibaly began his coaching career, starting as an attack coach at
KAA Gent
Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (; English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname ' (), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football tea ...
with the club's U23/Jong team and later, from the 2020-21 season, as assistant coach.
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Coulibaly was appointed manager of
K.R.C. Gent.
STAMNUMMERS 7 EN 11 SLAAN NOG MEER DE HANDEN IN ELKAAR
kaagent.be, 7 June 2023
Honours
; K.A.A. Gent
* Belgian Cup
The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...
(1): 2009–10
References
External links
Guardian's Stats Centre
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulibaly, Elimane
1980 births
Living people
Footballers from Dakar
Senegalese men's footballers
Senegalese expatriate men's footballers
Belgian men's footballers
Belgian Pro League players
Challenger Pro League players
K.V. Kortrijk players
K.A.A. Gent players
Beerschot A.C. players
K.M.S.K. Deinze players
K.V. Oostende players
Royal Excel Mouscron players
Men's association football forwards
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
K.V.K. Ninove players
Senegalese football managers
21st-century Belgian sportsmen
21st-century Senegalese sportsmen