Coli Saco
Malian footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coli Saco (born 15 May 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie C Group C club Casertana on loan from Napoli. Born in France, Saco represents Mali at under-23 level.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 May 2002 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Créteil, France | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Central midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team |
Casertana (on loan from Napoli) | |||||||||||||
| Number | 99 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Le Havre | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Sochaux | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | AC Milan | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Napoli | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Napoli | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → Pro Vercelli (loan) | 34 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | → Ancona (loan) | 32 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → Bari (loan) | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | → Yverdon-Sport (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2026– | → Casertana (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Mali U23 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 July 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Club career
Born in Créteil, Saco joined Le Havre's youth sector in 2017, aged 15, before moving to Sochaux one year later.[1][2] He then came through the youth ranks of the Lionceaux,[1] taking part in the 2019–20 Coupe Gambardella, where Sochaux reached the round of 16 before the competition was cancelled, due to the emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]
In October 2020, Saco entered AC Milan's academy;[5][6] however, he was released after just one season, having not managed to break into the under-19 team consistently.[2][7] In September 2021, he officially joined fellow Italian club Napoli after a successful trial.[8][9]
Having impressed with his performances for Napoli's under-19 squad, during the 2021–22 season Saco started training with the first team, under manager Luciano Spalletti.[2][10] The midfielder originally received his first official call-up to the senior team for a Serie A match against Juventus on 6 January 2022: however, having tested positive for COVID-19, he eventually had to withdraw from the match-day squad.[2][10][11]
On 15 July 2022, Saco joined Serie C side Pro Vercelli on a season-long loan.[12][13] He then made his professional debut for the club on 3 September, starting and playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 league win against Padova.[14] On 5 November, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–1 league loss against AlbinoLeffe.[2][15]
On 1 September 2023, Saco joined fellow Serie C club Ancona on loan for the remainder of the season.[16][17]
On 30 August 2024, Saco moved on loan to Bari in Serie B.[18]
On 26 January 2026, Saco joined Casertana in Serie C on loan.[19]
International career
In June 2023, Saco was included in the final squad of the Malian under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted in Morocco,[20][21] where the Eagles finished in third place and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[22][23]
In July 2024, he was included by head coach Aliou Badra Diallo in the Malian squad for the men's football tournament at the Summer Olympics in Paris,[10][24] where The Eagles were eventually eliminated in the group stage.[25]
Style of play
Saco is a left-footed midfielder, who has been mainly regarded for his physical attributes, which allow him to win many headers and keep possession.[8][9] Despite his slow pace, he has proved to have good abilities in reading the game and finding goal opportunities, thanks to his off-the-ball movement and his heading.[2][8] He has also been noticed for his vision and his long-range passing prowess.[8]
Although he has been compared to André-Frank Zambo Anguissa,[8] he cited Paul Pogba and Yaya Touré as his main sources of inspiration.[9]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Mali U23
- U-23 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medal: 2023[22][23]