Laurent Koscielny French Footballer From Tulle

Early life

Laurent Koscielny was born on 10 September 1985 in Tulle, in the Corrèze department of France. His great-grandfather and grandfather were Polish miners who worked in the north of France. His father played in the fourth tier of French football for several clubs and later became a coach, and an older brother played in the amateur leagues. Koscielny played for several youth teams before joining the youth system of Guingamp. He was also eligible to play for Poland, and in 2010 he was reported to have considered applying for Polish citizenship, but he later said that France was his priority.

Club career

Koscielny made his professional debut at En Avant de Guingamp, where he played until 2007, mostly as a right-back, making 47 appearances. Wanting to play in the centre of defence, he moved to Tours FC in 2007. In the 2008-09 season he played 34 Ligue 2 matches, scored five goals, received only three yellow cards and was named in the division's team of the year.

In June 2009 he signed a four-year contract with FC Lorient, which had just been promoted to Ligue 1, for a fee of about 1.7 million euros. He played 35 matches in his single season there, scoring three goals, and Lorient finished seventh, the best result in the club's Ligue 1 history.

Arsenal signed him in July 2010 for a reported 8.45 million pounds, and he was given the number 6 shirt. He was sent off on his competitive debut, a 1-1 draw at Liverpool, after two yellow cards that were both shown after the ninetieth minute. He scored his first Arsenal goal on 11 September 2010, in a 4-1 win over Bolton Wanderers, and played well in the Champions League round of 16 tie against Barcelona that season. He was involved in a mix-up with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the last minute of the 2011 League Cup final, which Birmingham City won.

Over nine seasons, he formed a regular partnership with Per Mertesacker and became one of the club's central defenders. He scored the equalising goal in the 2014 FA Cup final against Hull City, which Arsenal won 3-2 after trailing 2-0, and that was his first trophy with the club. Arsenal won the FA Cup again in 2015, when he played the full match in a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, and the FA Community Shield in 2014 and 2015. On 10 September 2016, his 31st birthday, he scored an overhead kick against Southampton, which made him the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history for Arsenal. After a three-match ban for a red card in the final league match, he missed the 2017 FA Cup final but lifted the trophy with Mertesacker. After Mertesacker retired, Koscielny became the club captain. His last match for Arsenal was the 2019 Europa League final, a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea. Arsenal also lost the League Cup final in 2018.

In August 2019 he signed for Bordeaux. In January 2022 the club removed him from the first team and gave him a non-playing role in its international partnerships. He announced his retirement on 26 March 2022.

International career

Koscielny was called up to the France national team in February 2011 and won his first caps that year. He started for France at UEFA Euro 2012 and played the whole match in the quarter-final defeat by Spain. He was in the squad for the 2014 World Cup and played in the group matches against Switzerland and Ecuador. At Euro 2016 he started every game as France reached the final, which they lost to Portugal. He scored his only international goal in a friendly against Scotland on 4 June 2016. In all he made 51 appearances. He was not included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup and retired from international football in 2018.

Coaching

In June 2023 Koscielny became head coach of Lorient's under-17 team, and on 11 June 2024 the club appointed him its sporting director.

Recognition

Koscielny was named in the Ligue 2 team of the year in 2008-09 and in the UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season for 2018-19. With Arsenal he won the FA Cup in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and the FA Community Shield in 2014 and 2015.