Senegal manager Aliou Cissé is hoping to make history by leading his team to the World Cup quarter-finals as a player and a coach.
Cissé captained his country as they reached the last eight of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, beating France in the group stages before finally losing to Turkey. He also led them to the Africa Cup of Nations in the same year.
Now, 20 years on, he has already won the Africa Cup of Nations as a manager and hopes to reach the quarter-finals in Qatar by beating England.
Read more: Raheem Sterling out of England v Senegal clash due to 'family matter'
Cissé, now aged 46, played for Birmingham and Portsmouth during a playing career which spanned 15 years and included spells at Lille and PSG. He played the majority of his career as a defensive midfielder and scored three goals in 153 club appearances. For Senegal, he didn’t score once in 35 caps.
The national team job is Cissé’s only managerial role to date, taking the reins in 2015 after serving as a caretaker and an assistant before that.
Tragically, Cissé lost several members of his family in a ferry disaster in 2002. The ship was heading to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, when a storm hit. The ferry capsized off the coast of Gambia and more 1,863 people died in total.
Cissé played in a charity match between Senegal and Nigeria which helped raise money for victims’ families. Birmingham City also collected money for the families and displayed a large Senegal flag at their St Andrew’s ground during a game against Manchester City.
Read next:
- Pele 'moved to end of life care' as he stops responding to treatment
- What's been happening at Swansea City during World Cup break
- Andre Ayew's daughter rushed to hospital as striker reveals other tragedy
- Roberto Martinez has divided Swans fans for more than a decade
- Mark Drakeford and Vaughan Gething's World Cup trip to Qatar cost just over £13k
