Aliou Cissé

Aliou Cissé (born 24 March 1976) is a Senegalese professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Senegal national team. Cissé is best known for captaining the Senegal team which reached the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations Final and for being the first Senegal manager to win the tournament in 2022 after reaching the final in 2019.[2][3]

Aliou Cissé
Cissé as Senegal manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-03-24) 24 March 1976[1]
Place of birth Ziguinchor, Senegal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder, defender
Team information
Current team
 Senegal (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Lille 6 (0)
1997–1998 Sedan 0 (0)
1998–2002 Paris Saint-Germain 43 (1)
2001–2002 → Montpellier (loan) 17 (1)
2002–2004 Birmingham City 36 (0)
2004–2006 Portsmouth 23 (0)
2006–2008 Sedan 21 (1)
2008–2009 Nîmes 7 (0)
Total 153 (3)
International career
1999–2005 Senegal 35 (0)
Managerial career
2012 Senegal (caretaker)
2012–2013 Senegal U23 (assistant)
2013–2015 Senegal U23
2015– Senegal
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Senegal (as player)
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2002
Representing  Senegal (as manager)
Runner-up2019
Winner2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Having begun his career in France, he later played for English clubs Birmingham City and Portsmouth. Cissé was a defensive midfielder who also, on occasion, played at centre back.

Cissé has been the head coach of Senegal since 2015, having briefly taken charge of them following Amara Traoré's sacking, in a caretaker role in 2012. He was also the assistant coach of the under-23 side from 2012 to 2013, becoming head coach from 2013 to 2015.

Club career

Born in Ziguinchor, Senegal, Cissé moved to Paris at the age of nine where he grew up with dreams of playing for Paris Saint-Germain.[4] He began his career with Lille OSC before moving onto CS Sedan Ardennes and then Paris Saint-Germain. He also spent the majority of the 2001–02 season on loan at Montpellier Herault SC.[5]

After captaining the Senegal national team to the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Cissé transferred to English club Birmingham City for their 2002–03 season, their debut season in the Premier League.[6][7] Cissé made his first appearance for the club at Arsenal on the opening day of the season, but was sent off. Though the sending-off was rescinded,[8] he went on to receive five yellow cards in six games, ultimately accumulating ten yellow cards before the New Year. His season, however, was cut short after picking up an injury in February that ruled him out for the rest of the season.[9]

Cissé returned late to pre-season training in July 2003, which led manager Steve Bruce to place him on the transfer list. Cissé eventually got himself back into the first team picture, but his relationship with Bruce continued to sour. After Christmas, Cissé only played three more games that season. At the end of the season he signed for Portsmouth for £300,000 on a two-year contract, despite a strong transfer link to Premiership rivals Bolton Wanderers. The transfer was ultimately one of several included in the Stevens report released in June 2007, which expressed concerns of corruption within English football. Regarding Cissé, the report stated, "Agent Willie McKay acted for Portsmouth in the transfer of Cissé and [...] the inquiry is not prepared to clear these transfers at this stage".[10]

After two years at Portsmouth, Cissé returned to CS Sedan in November 2006 after undergoing a two-week trial.[11] He then signed for French Ligue 2 side Nîmes Olympique from CS Sedan in September 2008.[12] Cissé played seven games during the 2008–09 season before retiring from club football at the age of 33.

International career

Cissé captained the Senegal national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After a 1–0 victory over reigning world champions France on matchday one,[13] the team made it all the way to the quarter-finals where they lost 1–0 to Turkey.[14] Cissé was also part of the Senegal team who were the runners-up in the 2002 African Cup of Nations, but was one of the players who missed a penalty during the shootout in the final as they lost to Cameroon.[15]

Managerial career

In early March 2015, Cissé was officially appointed as the head coach for the Senegal national team.[16] The team qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 10 November 2017, with a 2–0 away win against South Africa.[17] Ultimately, Senegal were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament after becoming the first team in FIFA World Cup history to be eliminated due to fair play tiebreaker rules.[18] "This is one of the rules. We have to respect it", said Cissé. "Of course, we would prefer to be eliminated another way. It's a sad day for us but we knew these were the regulations."[19]

Cissé coached Senegal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, helping Senegal to its first ever final since the 2002, a tournament which Cissé himself also participated when he was the team's captain.[20] However, his Senegal was defeated 1–0 in the final by Algeria, after losing by the same score in the group stage, and missed out on its first ever African trophy.[21][22]

In February 2019, Senegal's Football Federation (FSF) extended Cissé and his staff's contracts until August 2021.[23]

On 6 February 2022, Cissé led Senegal to victory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final they beat Egypt 4–2 on penalties to clinch their first title, thus redeemed himself after two previous final defeats.[24]

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he led the Senegalese national team to the knockout stage for the first time since he was a player in 2002.[25]

Personal life

Cissé lost several members of his family in the MV Le Joola ferry disaster that occurred off the coast of The Gambia on 26 September 2002.[26][27] To honour the lives lost, Cissé participated in a charity match between Senegal and Nigeria that raised money for the families of the more than 1,000 reported victims.[28] Birmingham City, one of his former clubs, collected money for the victims' families and honored Cissé by displaying a giant Senegal flag during a game against Manchester City.[29]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[30]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lille1994–95Division 16010000070
1995–960000000000
1996–970000000000
Total 6010000070
Sedan Ardennes1997–98Championnat National0010000010
Paris Saint-Germain1998–99Division 180305100161
1999–2000251201040321
2000–01100101000120
2001–020000002020
Total 431607160622
Montpellier (loan)2001–02Division 1171000000171
Birmingham City2002–03Premier League210000000210
2003–04150000000150
Total 360000000360
Portsmouth2004–05Premier League200000000200
2005–063010000040
Total 230100000240
Sedan Ardennes2006–07Ligue 1110300000140
2007–08Ligue 2101101000120
Total 211401000261
Nîmes2008–09Ligue 27000100080
Career total 153312091601814

Managerial
As of matches played 16 October 2023[31]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
PWDLWin %
Senegal 5 March 2015 Present 123 73 29 21 059.35 [32]
Total 123 73 29 21 059.35 —

Honours

Player

Paris Saint-Germain

Senegal

Manager

Senegal

Individual

References
  1. "Aliou Cisse". Ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. "Senegal 0-1 Algeria: Baghdad Bounedjah's second-minute goal seals Africa Cup of Nations title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. "Senegal 0-0 Egypt (Senegal win 4-2 on penalties): Sadio Mane puts penalty miss behind him to score winning spot kick in shootout". Sky Sports. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. "Cissé Aliou". Paris.canal-historique (in French). 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  5. "Aliou Cisse Histoire". mhscfoot.com (in French). Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  6. "Aliou Cisse signs for Birmingham". Zee News. Zee Media Corporation Limited. 10 July 2002. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  7. Ireland, Shane (20 June 2018). "Aliou Cissue: The former Birmingham City midfielder now managing Senegal at World Cup 2018". Birmingham Mail. Reach plc. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. "Cisse red card rescinded". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 August 2002. Archived from the original on 23 August 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  9. Ireland, Shane (5 February 2018). "Aliou Cisse - here's what happened to a Birmingham City favourite". MSN. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  10. "What Stevens said about each club". London: www.telegraph.co.uk. 16 June 2007. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  11. "Actualité des anciens parisiens". PSG70 (in French). Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  12. "Transfert - Aliou Cissé à Nîmes". Amicale Sportive Des Footballeurs Congolais (in French). AfrikBlog. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  13. Glendenning, Barry (31 May 2002). "World Cup 2002: France 0 - 1 Senegal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  14. Glendenning, Barry (22 June 2002). "World Cup 2002: Turkey 1 - 0 Senegal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  15. "Cameroon retain Cup". BBC. 10 February 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  16. Okeleji, Oluwashina (5 March 2015). "Aliou Cisse appointed new Senegal coach". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  17. Rahman Alfa Shaban, Abdur (11 November 2018). "Senegal qualifies for second World Cup after beating South Africa". Africanews.com. Africanews. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  18. Carroll, Charlotte (28 June 2018). "Senegal Eliminated From World Cup, Loses Fair Play Tiebreaker to Japan". Sports Illustrated. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  19. "Senegal accept fair play tiebreaker as they 'don't deserve' to advance - coach". ESPN. ESPN Inc. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  20. "Senegal, Algeria set for rematch in AFCON final".
  21. "Africa Cup of Nations: Senegal 0-1 Algeria - Belaili scores opener". BBC Sport. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  22. Doyle, Paul (19 July 2019). "Senegal 0-1 Algeria: Africa Cup of Nations 2019 final – as it happened". The Guardian.
  23. "Senegal coach Aliou Cisse extends contract until 2021". africa news. February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  24. Stevens, Rob (7 February 2022). "Afcon 2021: Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to win first-ever Nations Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  25. Caoimhe O'Neill (29 November 2022). "Senegal beats Ecuador 2-1 to advance to knockout stage: Live post-match analysis and reaction". The Athletic.
  26. "Footballer's match for ferry victims". BBC News. 8 October 2002. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  27. Senegal coach Cisse opens up on the burden of tragedy, retrieved from BBC Sport, 3 December 2022
  28. Wamé, Baba (9 October 2002). "Aliou Cissé, le Lion meurtri par le Joola" [Aliou Cissé, the lion bruised by Le Joola]. Afrik.com (in French). Archived from the original on 15 September 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  29. Copnall, James (26 October 2002). "Blues fans open their hearts to Senegal's grieving captain". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  30. "Aliou CISSé - Football : la fiche de Aliou CISSé". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  31. Aliou Cissé coach profile at Soccerway
  32. "Senegal: Matches". Soccerway. DAZN Group. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  33. "Cameroon 0 - 0 Senegal (Aet: Cameroon won 3 - 2 on penalties)". 11 February 2002.
  34. Rose, Gary (19 July 2019). "Africa Cup of Nations: Algeria beat Senegal to win final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  35. "Mane, Cissé, Mendy, Aboubakar take TotalEnergies AFCON individual awards". Confederation of African Football. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  36. "2022 CAF Awards: Sadio Mane named Africa Footballer of The Year for the second time as Oshoala wins Womens' Player of The Year". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
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