Pape Abou Cissé (born 14 September 1995) is a Senegalese 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 lea ...

who plays for

Al Shamal Al Shamal () is a municipality in Qatar. Its seat is Madinat ash Shamal and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar, although its population is barely over 7,000. The seat's name translates to "city of the north". Ras Rakan, t ...

as a

center-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Early career

A youth international for Senegal, he is a youth product of

AS Pikine Association Sportive de Pikine or simply AS Pikine is a Senegalese football club based in Pikine. They play at Stade Al Djigo, Stade Alassane Djigo, which has a capacity of 10,000. History The earlier club was established in 1921 and was called ...

. After a trial, Cissé joined

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

in early 2015 as a trainee professional. He made his professional debut in a

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

draw against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

in April 2015, playing the entire game. He went on to make 71 appearances in the French second tier.

Olympiacos

In 2017, he joined

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

as a pre-contract signing. On 14 October 2017, he scored his first goal with Olympiacos, after an assist from

Kostas Fortounis Konstantinos 'Kostas' Fortounis (, ; born 16 October 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Saudi side Al-Khaleej. He was born in Trikala, Thessaly but comes from the nearby village of Sarakina, cl ...

in a 4–3 away win against

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

. Benfica were reportedly interested in signing the player in the January 2018 transfer window. Cissé scored an injury-time equaliser for Olympiacos against Panathiniakos in the first derby of the 2018–19 Superleague Greece season. He was included in

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

's Europa League Breakthrough Team for 2018: the citation described him as having a "towering presence in the Olympiacos back line, allied to deceptive pace and a great awareness ndalso a threat from set pieces." On 12 February 2020, Cissé scored a quick-fire double to quash

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

's stubborn challenge and secure Olympiacos' qualification to the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

semi-finals, in a thrilling 3–2 home win game. Later that month, on 27 February, he scored with a stooping header from a corner-kick, when French international

Mathieu Valbuena Mathieu Valbuena (born 28 September 1984) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Greek Super League club Athens Kallithea. He occasionally plays as a winger and is known for his pace, technical ability, an ...

curling over a dangerous delivery into the heart of the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

's penalty area in a glorious 2–1 away win in London for the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

round of 32, 2nd leg. He has been included in the Europa League Team of the Week.

Loan to Saint-Étienne

On 30 January 2021, Senegalese international defender Cissé was loaned out to

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

with an option to buy. The former player of AS Pikine has the opportunity to bounce back in a historic French club which can keep him against €13 million.

Return to Olympiacos

On 19 August 2021, Cissé scored a goal against Slovan Bratislava, sealing a 3–0 home win in the

playoffs, 1st leg. On 4 December 2021, with two goals by Cissé, Olympiacos defeated OFI at the

Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium (), commonly referred to by its nickname, Yedi Kule, is a football stadium located in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. It was built in 1951 as the home ground of OFI Crete. The nickname "Yedi Kule" refers to the his ...

, sealing a vital away win in his club's effort to win the championship. On 12 December 2021, he was the only scorer after

Rony Lopes Marcos Paulo Mesquita "Rony" Lopes (born 28 December 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Süper Lig club Alanyaspor. Early life Born in Belém, Pará, Brazil to a Brazilian fat ...

's assist in a 1–0 home win game against

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

Adana Demirspor

On 15 September 2023, Cissé joined Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Adana Demirspor Adana Demirspor Kulübü is a multi-sports club based in Adana, Turkey. The football department is the most popular department which relegated to TFF 1. Lig on 16 March 2025 after 4 seasons at the Super Lig. Founded by railway workers of Turk ...

International career

Cissé represented the Senegal U20s at the

2015 African U-20 Championship The 2015 African U-20 Championship was the 20th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 20 and below. The tournament took place in Senegal between 8� ...

in 2015. On 24 August 2018, he received his first senior call-up, for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

on 9 September 2018. He made his senior debut on 13 October 2018, in another qualifier at home to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, and scored the only goal of the match. Cissé's performances in the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

, after replacing Napoli star

Kalidou Koulibaly Kalidou Koulibaly (born 20 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and captains the Senegal national team. Koulibaly began his professional club career with French team Metz in 20 ...

who had tested positive for coronavirus, in the Lions of Teranga's first two Afcon matches against

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

attracted the interest of many European clubs. He was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by

President of Senegal The president of Senegal () is the head of state of Senegal. In accordance with the 2001 Senegalese constitutional referendum, constitutional reform of 2001 and since a 2016 Senegalese constitutional referendum, referendum that took place on 20 ...

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

following the nation's victory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2019–20, 2021–22 *

: 2019–20 Senegal *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

; runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Senegal U20 * Africa U-20 Championship runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

Breakthrough XI: 2018 *

Player of the Month: December 2021 * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2021–22 Orders * Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cisse, Pape Abou 1995 births Living people Men's association football defenders Senegalese men's footballers 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen Senegal men's international footballers AS Pikine players AC Ajaccio players Olympiacos F.C. players AS Saint-Étienne players Adana Demirspor footballers Al-Shamal SC players Ligue 1 (Senegal) players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Ligue 1 players Süper Lig players Qatar Stars League players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Africa Cup of Nations–winning players Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in France Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal