Coulibaly plots Lyon downfall

In 2006 Adamo Coulibaly was working as a forklift driver on the nightshift at the Peugeot factory in the Parisian suburb of Poissy to supplement his meagre income playing for seventh-tier side RC Neauphle-le-Château. Three years on and the 28-year-old Frenchman is helping raise Debreceni VSC's profile in the UEFA Champions League.

'Confidence'
Debrecen's first match in the competition may have yielded a 1-0 loss at Liverpool FC, but according to Coulibaly, Andras Herczeg's side showed they are not out of their depth at this level. "We belong here," he told uefa.com. "We're supposed to be the underdogs but we showed some good things and I believe we can qualify. We started with a lot of confidence, we were not scared. As our coach said, we gain experience from games like that. We finished first in the Hungarian league which is good, but a European game is like three or four games in Hungary. We are learning fast and it is very interesting for all the young players in the team and especially for me."

Patience
Coulibaly has had to wait longer than most for his shot at the big time. He spent seven years in the lower divisions of French football before finally getting his break in Belgium with K. Sint-Truidense VV in 2007. His seven goals and speed on the ball earned him a move to Royal Antwerp FC at the end of that season. He joined the Hungarian champions in the summer and is quickly adjusting to life at Europe's top table. The days of working the night shift after training are long gone, and the prospect of playing Lyon on Tuesday is one he relishes.

Lyon test
"It represents a lot for me," said Coulibaly, born near Paris to Ivorian parents. "To play against Lyon, against a French team, will be special of course, but the most important thing is to win. If we can win this one, it will be a great thing for Hungary as well as Debrecen because we also represent Hungary with our shirt. We played with pride against Liverpool and if Lyon were watching, they will pay attention in the next game."

Good start
Having had to leave France to make his name, Coulibaly has started well with his new club, scoring three times already, including once in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round win over FC Levadia Tallinn. He worked hard as a lone striker at Anfield on Matchday 1, almost shocking the hosts when he reached Leandro's through ball ahead of Pepe Reina but failed to direct a late lob on target. "We were playing Liverpool so we wanted to show ourselves in a good light, especially a striker like me, I wanted to score," he said. "It was difficult, but we took some positives for our other games and we left the pitch proud of ourselves. We will give everything against Lyon and Fiorentina to try to qualify."