Aliou Cissé
Aliou Cissé is a manager who has been touted as being able to “lay down a dynasty with Senegal” (Ames). Who is he, you ask? Cissé spent his 17-year playing career split between the French and English top flights. He played at such notable clubs as Lille, Montpellier, PSG, Birmingham City, and Portsmouth as a defensive midfielder. He was also a part of the first Senegal team to qualify for the World Cup in 2002, making it to the quarterfinals and beating previous winners France in the process. Many believe that Senegal is finally growing into a powerful football nation thanks to the star-studded coaching staff that has been by Cissé’s side for many years. Younger than most of the coaches at this year’s World Cup, the 42-year-old Senegalese has only been managing since 2012. He assisted and managed the Senegal U-23 team for three years before being appointed to the head coaching job for the national team in 2015. Though without any major titles to his name, he has taken Senegal to its highest FIFA ranking in history (23rd ) and second WC qualification of all time. Many are expecting great things from this team of impressive players and staff. Could Cissé be the man to finally take an African nation to the World Cup semifinals?
Works Cited
“1998 FIFA World Cup France ™ – FIFA.Com”. FIFA.Com, http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/france1998/index.html. Accessed 23 Apr 2018.
“Aliou Cissé”. En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliou_Ciss%C3%A9. Accessed 23 Apr 2018.
Ames, Nick. “Senegal’s Impressive Aliou Cisse Is Paving The Way For African Coaches”. Eurosport, 2017, https://www.eurosport.com/football/african-cup-of-nations/2017/senegal-s-impressive-aliou-cisse-is-paving-the-way-for-african-coaches_sto6024563/story.shtml. Accessed 23 Apr 2018.
Hassanali, Tameem. “What Is The Farthest An African Team Has Gone In A World Cup?”. Quora, 2014, https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-farthest-an-African-team-has-gone-in-a-World-Cup. Accessed 23 Apr 2018.
“Senegal National Football Team”. En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal_national_football_team. Accessed 23 Apr 2018.
