Mohamed Sissoko

Mohamed Lamine Sissoko Gillan (born January 27, 1985 in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France), often referred to as Momo Sissoko, is a France-Mali football (soccer) player who plays for Liverpool F.C] (in the England Premier League) and for the Mali national football team. Sissoko is a tough tackling defensive midfield player. He is often compared to Patrick Vieira due to his playing style.

Player profile

Sissoko started his professional career in 2002 with AJ Auxerre in France, but failed to establish himself in the first team. After just one season, at the age of eighteen, he moved to Valencia CF in Spain. At this time Sissoko was considered a striker, but his new manager Rafael Benítez saw the potential for him to be converted into an energetic midfielder — the position he is now famous for playing.

Sissoko was born in France and represented France national football team at the U21 level, but opted to play internationally for Mali, the country of his parents, taking advantage of a new FIFA rule that allowed players with dual citizenship to play for a country other than the ones they represented as youth players. "It was a very difficult decision for me, the fact that I chose Mali is something that I hold very close to my heart..." Sissoko said, "Choosing Mali was the decision that I took. It's an honour for me and I made my choice. It's something I don't think about a lot now."

Sissoko, a practicing Muslim, has two brothers who also play football professionally; Ibrahim Sissoko, currently plays for The Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. and Abdul Sissoko for AJ Auxerre.

Liverpool

Sissoko moved from Valencia CF to Liverpool F.C] in the summer of 2005 for a fee reported to be Euro 8m. He had been expected to sign for Liverpool's rivals Everton F.C. but ultimately plumped for the opportunity to work again with former Valencia boss, Rafael Benítez.

Sissoko is seen by some in the game as a future midfield star of European football. Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, showered praise upon him when he said Sissoko possessed "incredible ability for his age" and similar qualities to Frenchman Patrick Vieira.. However,he made his comeback from injury by playing against Newcastle in a game which Liverpool lost 2-1.

Sissoko's first real test after coming back from injury was in the Champions League against F.C. Barcelona, the holders. Sissoko was awarded the Man of the Match award by Uefa.
However for the remainder of the season he would compete for the holding position in the centre of Liverpool's midfield with newly arrived Argentine Javier Mascherano. He would be largely unsuccessful, and Mascherano started in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final ahead of Sissoko. This led to people questioning whether he would leave Liverpool, with notable clubs such as Juventus and Barcelona reportedly interested. However on the 28th June, Sissoko signed a contract to extend his Liverpool career a further 4 years, keeping him at Liverpool Football Club until 2011. It was later revealed that Sissoko had indeed received an offer from Juventus, but he turned them down as Liverpool are a 'bigger club'.

On 25th August 2007, in a match against Sunderland FC at the Stadium of Light, Sissoko started in place of the injured Steven Gerrard in Liverpool's central midfield. In the match, Sissoko finally scored his first ever competitive goal in his Liverpool career, a long-range first-time effort from 25 yards out, assisted by Andriy Voronin. It was Sissoko's first domestic league goal in his career, on his 75th appearance for the club. The goal also marked Liverpool's 7000th goal in league football.

Playing Style

Mohammed Sissoko plays as 'the holding man' in the current Liverpool team (when he starts). Although an effective marker (with boundless stamina that aids his breaking down of opposition's moves), his ineffective tackling often leads him to lose the ball soon after, though he often wins it back. He prefers to bundle in than use more refined skill, in addition, Mohammed Sissoko has been criticised for not being able to pass and this leads to the team's inability to quickly start up counter-attacks, although this has greatly improved the latest season.

Honours

Valencia
- 2003–04 La Liga
- 2003–04 UEFA Cup
- 2004 European Super Cup
Liverpool
- 2005 European Super Cup
- 2005–06 FA Cup
- 2006 FA Community Shield