Mohamed Sissoko

Mohamed Sissoko

Sissoko in 2012
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Lamine Sissoko Gillan
Date of birth (1985-01-22) 22 January 1985
Place of birth Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Shanghai Shenhua
Number 14
Youth career
Troyes
1998–2002 Auxerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2003 Auxerre 0 (0)
2003–2005 Valencia 45 (0)
2005–2008 Liverpool 51 (1)
2008–2011 Juventus 71 (3)
2011–2013 Paris Saint-Germain 28 (2)
2013 → Fiorentina (loan) 5 (0)
2013–2014 Levante 31 (0)
2015– Shanghai Shenhua 10 (1)
National team‡
2004–2013 Mali 34 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 October 2015.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 July 2013[1]

Mohamed Lamine "Momo" Sissoko Gillan (born 22 January 1985) is a Malian footballer who currently plays for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua and the Malian national team as a defensive midfielder.[2]

Born in France, although he could have elected to play for France internationally, he chose to play for the country of his descent, Mali.

Club career

AJ Auxerre

Sissoko played as a second striker in the youth system of French club AJ Auxerre.[3]

Valencia

In 2003 Sissoko made a free transfer to Spanish club Valencia CF, managed by Rafael Benítez,[4] where he was deployed in midfield.[3] Valencia won the 2003–04 La Liga title and in the same year became UEFA Cup champions, during which Sissoko played nine matches. The following year, Benítez left to manage Liverpool and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

Liverpool

Sissoko playing for Liverpool in 2005

Sissoko moved from Valencia to Liverpool for £5.6 million in the summer of 2005.[5] His first appearance was against Kaunas on 26 July 2005 in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.[6] In February 2006, he suffered serious eye injury after collision with Benfica's midfielder Beto.[7]

Sissoko was part of the FA Cup winning side in 2006 and played an integral role for the team. In the summer of 2007, Sissoko rejected offers from Barcelona, CSKA Moskva and Juventus to stay at Merseyside. His only goal for Liverpool came on 25 August 2007, a low shot from twenty yards out against Sunderland in a 2-0 away win.[8]

Juventus

In January 2008 Sissoko transferred to Italian club Juventus, where he would team up with former coach Claudio Ranieri, for a fee of €11 million. He made his first appearance for the club in February 2008, coming in as a 67th minute substitution for Tiago in a Serie A fixture versus Cagliari Calcio. Sissoko scored his first goal for Juventus on 2 March 2008, the equaliser against Fiorentina. During the first half of the 2008–09 season, he regularly featured in the starting line-up, forming a partnership with youngster Claudio Marchisio as the centre midfield pair in Claudio Ranieri's 4–4–2 formation. His season ended early after he broke his foot in March 2009 ruling him out for the rest of that season and into the start of the 2009-10 season.[9]

Sissoko's injury problems continued throughout the rest of the 2009-10 season and into 2010–11 season, as he suffered thigh strains, a leg strain, Achilles tendon inflammation, and finally season-ending knee surgery in March 2011.[10]

Paris Saint-Germain

On 28 July 2011, Sissoko moved to Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee of €7 million + €1 million should Paris Saint-Germain qualify for the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League before September 2013.[11] Sissoko scored his first goal for PSG in November, when he headed in a cross from Nenê,[12] in a 1–1 draw against Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban Delmas.[13] In April 2012 Sissoko captained the squad against rivals Olympique de Marseille in Le Classique, but was sent off in the 86th minute for two bookable offences in a game that finished 2–1 to the Parisian club.[14] On 30 January 2013 Sissoko joined Fiorentina on loan.[15] On 3 September 2013 Sissoko left Paris Saint-Germain by mutual consent.[16]

Levante

On 30 January 2014, Sissoko joined the La Liga side Levante on a six-month deal after spending nearly five months without a club.[17]

Shanghai Shenhua

On 25 June 2015, Sissoko transferred to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua.[18]

International career

Born in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France, Sissoko was eligible to play for the French national football team but opted to play international football for his ancestral country, Mali. Sissoko obtained his first international call-up in 2004, and has appeared for his country in almost all African Cup of Nations qualifiers and tournaments since then. He has also featured in FIFA World Cup qualifiers for both 2006 and 2010. Sissoko has made 34 official appearances for Mali, and has scored 2 goals. With the Mali national football team, he finished fourth in the 2004 African Cup of Nations, and third in the 2013 African Cup of Nations.[19]

Style of play

A large, quick, combative, and physically strong central defensive midfielder, Sissoko excels as a ball winner, a role which allows him to support his more offensive midfield team-mates defensively by laying off the ball to them after winning back possession. Due to his tenacious tackling, stamina, work-rate, and tacitcal intelligence, he has been compared to former French midfielder Patrick Vieira,[20][21] also earning the nickname "La Piovra" (the octopus) during his time with Juventus, due to his long limbs and energetic style of play.[3] In addition to his ball-winning abilities, and his physical and athletic attributes, he is also known for his powerful striking ability from distance.[22]

Personal life

Sissoko is the nephew of former African Footballer of the Year Salif Keïta,[23] who, like Sissoko, played for Mali and Valencia CF. Salif Keita is also the uncle of former FC Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita. Both Sissoko and Seydou Keita play similar roles as hard-tackling central defensive midfielders. Sissoko is sometimes referred to as "the Black Ninja" for his tenacious tackling and work rate. He has no relation to football player Moussa Sissoko, but is the elder brother of Abdou Sissoko.[3]

Sissoko has said "I am proud of being a Muslim and I follow Ramadan even during the football tournament," on the Dubai-based Arab TV network, Al Arabiya.[24]

Career statistics

As of 29 November 2015[25]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2002–03AuxerreLigue 10000000000
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2003–04ValenciaLa Liga21040 91341
2004–052400050290
Total Spain 45040141631
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005–06LiverpoolPremier League2606000110430
2006–07160002090270
2007–0891002030141
Total England 5116040230841
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2007–08JuventusSerie A15100 00151
2008–092123080322
2009–101701060240
2010–1118010100290
Total Italy 713502401003
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2011–12Paris Saint-GermainLigue 1252000030282
2012–133000103070
Total France 282001060352
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2012–13FiorentinaSerie A5000 0050
Total Italy 763502401053
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2013–14LevanteLa Liga10000 00100
China PR League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2015Shanghai ShenhuaChinese Super League10150--151
Career total 21091505067129710

Honours

Valencia[26]
Liverpool[26]
Paris Saint-Germain[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Mohamed Sissoko". National Football Teams. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "#22 Mohamed Sissoko: Midfielder". Soccernet. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Alberto Mauro (13 February 2009). "Sissoko: "Sono La Piovra"" [Sissoko: "I am The Octopus"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "CAS 2005/O/530" (PDF) (in French). Court of Arbitration for Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Sissoko completes Liverpool move". BBC Sport. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kaunas 1-3 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 26 July 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Specialist optimistic for Sissoko". BBC Sport. 23 February 2006.
  8. ↑ "Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2". LFC History. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "Sissoko suffers injury setback". BBC. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Juve blow as Sissoko out for season". ESPN Soccernet. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Sissoko moves to Paris Saint Germain". Juventus FC. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  12. ↑ PSG, Bordeaux settle for a 1-1 draw Fox Soccer. 6 November 2011.
  13. ↑ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=320275&cc=5901
  14. ↑ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=320092&cc=5901
  15. ↑ Mohamed Sissoko to join Fiorentina FIFA.com. 31 January 2013.
  16. ↑ Momo Sissoko leaves PSG Soccernews.com. 3 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "El Levante UD firma a Mohamed Sissoko hasta final de temporada" [Levante UD signing Mohamed Sissoko until end of season] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  18. ↑ 申花官方宣布西索科加盟 at sports.sohu.com 2015-06-25 Retrieved 2015-06-26
  19. ↑ "Nations Cup 2013: Sissoko wins recall to Mali squad". BBC. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  20. ↑ Lewis Rutledge. "Sissoko the new Vieira". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Tim Rich (31 October 2006). "Sissoko makes us tick, says Benitez". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Amanda Cornforth (25 August 2007). "Liverpool beat Black Cats". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Sissoko: Quiero llegar a ser como Viera". Ciberche. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  24. ↑ "Italy: Muslim football players make headlines". Adnkronos English. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  25. ↑ "Sissoko stats". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  26. 1 2 3 "M. Sissoko". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 November 2015.

External links

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