Laurent Koscielny is one of the strongest French defenders of our time, who stands for London's Arsenal. He has Polish roots, but he was born at the same time in France. Laurent Koscielni has been playing for Arsenal for over five years, but has bloomed relatively recently. He refers to those footballers who are little in their youth, but towards the end of their careers they start to make an incredible impression in an incredible way. But what was the youth of this footballer? What clubs did he play for, and what did he achieve?
Carier start
Laurent Koscielni was born on September 10, 1985. From the age of eight, he began attending football schools and academies, and did not stay in one place for a long time almost never. In 1993, he joined Tulle Correz, in 1995 - to Brive, in 1997 - he returned to Tulle Correz, where he spent only one year before changing his club registration again. This time he again ended up at the Brive club, but this time he stayed there for three years. Only in 2002, a 17-year-old boy moved to Limoges, after which he reached the full-fledged professional club Guingamp. It was with him that Laurent Koscielny signed his first professional contract, starting to play for FC in the 04/05 season. In the first two years he spent a total of 24 matches, and in the third year - another 23. By that time, the player’s contract with the club expired, and he had to look for a new job, which became another French FC Tour.
Transition to "Tour"
Laurent Koscielni is a footballer who had to go down, because even in the not-so-famous "Guingamp" no one was waiting for him. In the “Tour”, he found a place at the base, and in two years the defender played 78 matches, scoring eight goals. Naturally, this impressed other clubs, and Laurent immediately received an invitation from Lorian, who paid him a half million euros.
Sunrise at Lorient
It was Lorient that became for Koscielni the very club that gave him a ticket to big football. Laurent spent only one year in the new FC, having played forty matches and scoring four goals. Immediately after him, a real hunt began - many of the leading clubs in Europe saw a 25-year-old player as a reliable pillar for his line of defense. The choice fell on the London “Arsenal”, which paid twelve and a half million euros for the Frenchman - ten times more than a year ago gave “Lorient”.
Career at Arsenal
From the very first season, Laurent Koscielny became the main player of Arsenal - he immediately concreted the defense of the London club. Since 2010, Koscielni has already spent six seasons in the shirt of the Gunners 247 matches, scoring 20 goals. Twice under Laurent the club became the owner of the FA Cup, but so far has not been able to win the Championship of England. In the current season, Koscielni has already played in eight games and scored two goals. For a long period of time, the Frenchman wears a captain's armband and is the leader of the team. The player’s current contract is designed for another season, but the English club, of course, plans to extend the agreement, since Laurent has become an indispensable part of the team.
Team appearances
Back in February 2011, Koscielni received his first call to the French team - then he was already 26 years old, by this time many football players already have an impressive supply of games for the national team. But even with this in mind, the defender had to wait another nine months before he got a chance to enter the field - in five matches he just sat on the bench. But on November 11, 2011, Laurent began a friendly match against the US national team in the starting lineup. Koscielni was eventually included in the team’s bid for the 2012 European Championships , but only entered the field in the quarterfinals against Spain.
At the 2014 World Championships, it was planned that Koscielni would also sit on the bench, but Sako's injury made adjustments, and Laurent replaced in the second match - in the next two games, Koscielni came out in the base, and in the quarterfinal came in for the replacement, but could not help the French who lost to the Germans.
As for the European Championship in 2016, he already went there as the main player - in each of the seven matches he went in the starting lineup, including in the final, which the French lost to the Portuguese.
Personal life
Many people are interested in what is done outside the Laurent Koscielni field. The personal life of the player is hidden behind a veil of secrecy. It is only known that he has a spouse with whom he lives extremely happily. It is also known that she took the surname that Laurent Koselni has - the wife is now known as Claire Koselni.