Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (born 22 January 1985) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

. Born in France, he could have elected to play for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

internationally, but chose instead to play for the national side of his ancestral country,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

Club career

Auxerre

Sissoko played as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the youth system of French club

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

Valencia

In 2003 Sissoko made a free transfer to Spanish club

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

, managed by

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...

, where he was deployed in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. 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 Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and was replaced by

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

Liverpool

Sissoko moved from Valencia to

for £5.6 million in the summer of 2005. His first appearance was against Kaunas on 26 July 2005 in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

qualifiers. In February 2006, he suffered serious eye injury after collision with Benfica's midfielder Beto. 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 Moscow and Juventus to stay on 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.

Juventus

In January 2008 Sissoko transferred to Italian club Juventus, where he would team up with former coach

, 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 The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

fixture versus

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. In the 2022-23 season, they compete in Serie B. As of 2021–22, the team is temporarily playing their home games at the 16,416-sea ...

. Sissoko scored his first goal for Juventus on 2 March 2008, the equaliser against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

. During the first half of the 2008–09 season, he regularly featured in the starting line-up, forming a partnership with youngster

Claudio Marchisio Claudio Marchisio (; born 19 January 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A product of the Juventus youth system, he spent a large portion of his career at his hometown club, with the exception of a sea ...

as the centre midfield pair in

'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. Sissoko's injury problems continued throughout the rest of the 2009–10 season and into

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season, as he suffered thigh strains, a leg strain, Achilles tendon inflammation, and finally season-ending knee surgery in March 2011.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 28 July 2011, Sissoko moved to Ligue 1 side

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

for a transfer fee of €7 million, plus €1 million if they qualified for the Group Stage of the

before September 2013. Sissoko scored his first goal for PSG in November, when he headed in a cross from

Nenê Nenê (; born Maybyner Rodney Hilário; September 13, 1982) is a Brazilian former professional basketball player. Known previously as Nenê Hilario, he legally changed his name to simply Nenê in 2003. Early life Born Maybyner Rodney Hilário i ...

, in a 1–1 draw against

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

at the

Stade Chaban Delmas Stade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It was the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Since 2011, it has also hosted matches of Top 14 rugby team Union Bordeaux Bègles. Until 2001, the stadium' ...

. In April 2012 he captained the squad against rivals Olympique de Marseille in

Le Classique Le Classique (, The Classic) is the rivalry between French professional football clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille. The duo are the two most successful clubs in French football, and the only French teams to have won major Eur ...

, but was sent off in the 86th minute for two bookable offences in a game that finished 2–1 to the Parisian club. On 30 January 2013, Sissoko joined

on loan. On 3 September 2013 Sissoko left PSG by mutual consent.

Later years

On 30 January 2014, Sissoko joined

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

side Levante on a six-month deal after spending nearly five months without a club. On 25 June 2015, he was transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

side

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

, and was released on 21 February 2016. On 1 October 2016, he joined

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

franchise

FC Pune City Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from AIFF. The club was founded in ...

as a marquee player. On 17 February 2017, he joined Italian club

Ternana Calcio Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

on a six-month contract, but terminated his contract just 25 days later. On 13 April 2017, he joined Indonesian club side Mitra Kukar on a one-year contract. On 2 December 2017, Sissoko switched to Mexican club

Atlético San Luis Club Atlético de San Luis, commonly known as Atlético San Luis, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí, replacing San Luis Potosí's Liga MX team San Luis FC after its relocation. San Luis was promoted to Liga MX in ...

. On 4 July 2018. Sissoko moved to

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inaugural seaso ...

club

Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won championships in Hong Kong 11 times, including 6 Hong Kong ...

on a one-year deal. Less than four months later, he terminated his contract in order to care for his father in France. On 16 January 2019, he signed a six-month contract with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. In January 2020, Sissoko announced his retirement as a player.

International career

Born in

Mont-Saint-Aignan Mont-Saint-Aignan () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the region of Normandy, northwestern France. The inhabitants of the town of Mont-Saint-Aignan are called ''Mont-Saint-Aignanais'' in French. Due to the presence of higher educ ...

, France, Sissoko was eligible to play for the France national team but opted to play international football for his ancestral country Mali. He obtained his first international call-up to the Mali national team in 2004, and appeared for his country in almost all African Cup of Nations qualifiers and tournaments since then. He also featured in

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifiers for both 2006 and 2010. Sissoko made 34 official appearances for Mali, and scored 2 goals. With Mali, he finished fourth in the

2004 African Cup of Nations The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004) is the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...

, and third in the

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

Style of play

A large, quick, combative, and physically strong

, Sissoko excels as a ball winner, a role which allows him to support his more offensive midfield teammates defensively by laying off the ball to them after winning back possession. Due to his tenacious tackling, stamina, work-rate, and tactical intelligence, he has been compared to former French midfielder

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

, also earning the nickname "La Piovra" (the octopus) during his time with Juventus, due to his long limbs and energetic style of play. In addition to his ball-winning abilities, and his physical and athletic attributes, he is also known for his powerful striking ability from distance.

Personal life

Sissoko is the nephew of former

African Footballer of the Year African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

Salif Keïta, who, like Sissoko, played for

and

. Salif Keita is also the uncle of former FC Barcelona midfielder

Seydou Keita Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder. Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four ...

. Both Sissoko and Seydou Keita play similar roles as hard-tackling defensive midfielders. Sissoko is sometimes referred to as "the Black Ninja" for his tenacious tackling and work rate. He is the elder brother of Abdou Sissoko. He is the cousin of the footballer

Oumar Sissoko Oumar Sissoko (born 13 September 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Championnat National 3 club Racing Besançon. Born in France, he is a former Mali international. He made 26 appearances for the Mali national team ...

. 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 Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sissoko goal''.

Honours

Valencia *

: 2003–04 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

: 2003–04 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

: 2004 Liverpool *

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

runner-up: 2005 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2005–06 * FA Community Shield: 2006 *UEFA Super Cup: 2005 Paris Saint-Germain * Ligue 1:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Mali * Africa Cup of Nations bronze:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Individual *Community Shield Man of the Match: 2006

References

External links

*
Profile at BBC Sport

LFChistory.net player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sissoko, Mohamed 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Seine-Maritime Malian footballers French footballers French Muslims Malian expatriate footballers Mali international footballers AJ Auxerre players Valencia CF players UEFA Cup winning players Liverpool F.C. players Juventus F.C. players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players Levante UD footballers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players La Liga players Premier League players Serie A players Serie B players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Chinese Super League players Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in China French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in China Association football midfielders Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Mali 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players People from Mont-Saint-Aignan 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players French people of Malian descent 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players Kitchee SC players French expatriates in Hong Kong Indian Super League players FA Cup Final players Footballers from Normandy