 Cissé asSenegal manager at the2018 FIFA World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1976-03-24)24 March 1976 (age 49)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ziguinchor, Senegal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder,centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Libya (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) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Senegal U23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2024 | Senegal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Libya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aliou Cissé (born 24 March 1976) is a Senegalese professionalfootball coach and former player who is the head coach of theLibya national team. Cissé is best known for captaining the Senegal team which reached the2002 Africa Cup of Nations Final and for being the first Senegal manager to win the tournament in2022 after reaching the final in2019.[2][3]
Having begun his career in France, he later played for English clubsBirmingham City andPortsmouth. Cissé was a defensive midfielder who also, on occasion, played atcentre-back.
Cissé has been the head coach ofSenegal since 2015, having briefly taken charge of them followingAmara Traoré's sacking, in a caretaker role in 2012. He was also the assistant coach of theunder-23 side from 2012 to 2013, becoming head coach from 2013 to 2015.
Born inZiguinchor, Senegal, Cissé moved to Paris at the age of nine, where he grew up with dreams of playing forParis Saint-Germain.[4] He began his career withLille before moving ontoSedan and then Paris Saint-Germain. He also spent the majority of the 2001–02 season on loan atMontpellier.[5]
After captaining theSenegal national team to the quarter-finals of the2002 FIFA World Cup, Cissé transferred to English clubBirmingham City for their2002–03 season, their debut season in thePremier League.[6][7] Cissé made his first appearance for the club atArsenal 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 managerSteve 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 forPortsmouth for £300,000 on a two-year contract, despite a strong transfer link to Premiership rivalsBolton Wanderers. The transfer was ultimately one of several included in theStevens report released in June 2007, which expressed concerns of corruption within English football. Regarding Cissé, the report stated: "AgentWillie 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 toSedan in November 2006, after undergoing a two-week trial.[11] He then signed for FrenchLigue 2 sideNîmes from Sedan in September 2008.[12] Cissé played seven games during the2008–09 season, before retiring from club football at the age of 33.
Cissé captained theSenegal national team at the2002 FIFA World Cup. After a 1–0 victory over reigning world championsFrance on matchday one,[13] the team made it all the way to the quarter-finals where they lost 1–0 toTurkey.[14] Cissé was also part of the Senegal team who were the runners-up in the2002 African Cup of Nations, but was one of the players who missed a penalty during the shootout in the final as they lost toCameroon.[15]
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In early March 2015, Cissé was officially appointed as the head coach for theSenegal national team.[16] The team qualified for the2018 FIFA World Cup on 10 November 2017, with a 2–0 away win againstSouth Africa.[17] Ultimately, Senegal were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament after becoming the first team inFIFA World Cup history to be eliminated due to fair playtiebreaker 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 the2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, helping Senegal to its first final since2002, a tournament in which Cissé himself had participated as the team's captain.[20] However, his Senegal was defeated 1–0 in thefinal byAlgeria, 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 the2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final they beatEgypt 4–2 on penalties to clinch their first title, thus redeemed himself after two previous final defeats.[24]
In the2022 FIFA World Cup, he led the Senegalese national team to theknockout stage for the first time since he was a player in 2002.[25]
On 2 October 2024, Cissé was dismissed from the job as Senegal coach after the team's round of 16 exit at the2023 Africa Cup of Nations and their underwhelming performance during the2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, ending his nine-year tenure as the Senegal head coach.[26]
In March 2025, Cissé was appointed the head coach for theLibya national team.[27]
Cissé lost several members of his family in theMV Le Joola ferry disaster that occurred off the coast ofThe Gambia on 26 September 2002.[28][29] To honour the lives lost, Cissé participated in a charity match between Senegal andNigeria that raised money for the families of the more than 1,000 reported victims.[30] 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 againstManchester City.[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lille | 1994–95 | Division 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Sedan | 1997–98 | Championnat National | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1998–99 | Division 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 62 | 2 | ||
| Montpellier (loan) | 2001–02 | Division 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Birmingham City | 2002–03 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
| Portsmouth | 2004–05 | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Sedan | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Nîmes | 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | 153 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 181 | 4 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Senegal | 5 March 2015 | 2 October 2024 | 136 | 82 | 33 | 21 | 060.29 | [34] |
| Libya | 12 March 2025 | present | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 042.86 | |
| Total | 143 | 85 | 36 | 22 | 059.44 | — | ||
Paris Saint-Germain
Senegal
Senegal
Individual
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Awards | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
