Players - Djibril Cissé

Djibril Cissé
Birthdate: 12 August 1981
Birthplace: Arles, France
Other clubs: Auxerre (1999-2004), Olympique Marseille (loan 2006-07 + transfer 2007-09), Sunderland (loan 2008-09), Panathinaikos (2009-11), Lazio (2011-12), Queens Park Rangers (2012-), Al Gharafa (loan 2013), Kuban Krasnodar (2013), Bastia (2014-15), Saint Pierroise (2015), Yverdon Sport (2017-18), Vicenza 1902 (2018)
Signed from: Auxerre
Signed for LFC: £14.5m, 01.07.2004
International debut: 18.05.2002 vs. Belgium
International caps: 41/9 (14/6 at LFC) - 07.10.2011
Liverpool debut: 10.08.2004
Last appearance: 13.05.2006
Debut goal: 14.08.2004
Last goal: 13.05.2006
Contract expiry: 09.07.2007
Win ratio: 62.03% W:49 D:15 L:15
Games/goals ratio: 3.29
Games/assists ratio: 15.8
Honours: Champions League 2005, European Super Cup 2005, FA Cup 2006
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 6 / 1
League games / goals / assists: 49 / 13 / 2
Total games / goals / assists: 79 / 24 / 5

Player Profile

Cissé joined Auxerre as a youngster and his star shone brightly in 2001/02, scoring all kinds of goals, some of them truly spectacular, and finished as top-scorer in France with 22 goals from 29 league games. Houllier was a firm admirer and signalled his intentions to his old friend Guy Roux, Auxerre's manager. "Gérard and I speak all the time and it does not usually take him long to get round to the subject of Djibril," revealed Roux. "There is no denying Djibril's game would flourish in the English game. With his pace, he would be one of the most destructive strikers in the English game." Cissé realised he was going nowhere yet and had a somewhat disappointing 2002/03 season, scoring 14 goals in 33 league games. In the summer of 2003 Roux persuaded him to stay for one more season. Liverpool-bound Cissé played superbly in his final season and scored 26 goals in 38 league games and was again king of the scoring charts in the French league. He was top-scorer by a good margin of six from Alexander Frei at Rennes and seven from Marseille's star striker Didier Drogba. Cissé scored 70 goals in 128 league games during his six seasons at Auxerre.

Ironically two weeks before Cissé's arrival at Anfield on 1 July 2004 Houllier had left the club by mutual consent. He now had to impress former Valencia boss, Rafa Benítez. By October Cissé admitted to LFC Magazine he was struggling in his new surroundings: "The game is much faster and more physical than I am used to and I am being singled out for close marking." In only his fifteenth game for Liverpool, having scored three goals, Cissé suffered a fracture of the tibia and fibula of his left leg against Blackburn on 30 October 2004. He was out of action for six months returning in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Juventus. If he hadn't been given the right treatment Cissé's career might have ended there and then. He was a substitute in nine of the ten games he featured in the rest of the season including the Istanbul final where he played 35 minutes and scored Liverpool's second penalty in the shoot-out.

Cissé scored six goals in his first nine matches of the 2005/06 season but the majority of them came against weak opponents in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. Two of his goals came on a big stage in the Super Cup final against CSKA Moscow when he guaranteed a 3-1 victory in extra-time. He didn't command a regular place in the team but two starts inspired winning goals in two consecutive games in the middle of October against Blackburn and Anderlecht. However, Cissé struggled to find any consistency as the season progressed and Rafa was not too happy: "At Auxerre he didn't have any responsibility for defending or the tactics of the team. Now at a big club like Liverpool, he needs to learn that he has to work for his teammates, who are also very good players. He has to understand the difference between a club that plays to win games and a club that plays to win trophies." Cissé scored one goal from the middle of November to the middle of March but finished the season with a flourish. He scored seven goals in his last ten games including the opening goal in the FA Cup final win over West Ham. As Liverpool were in contract discussions with Marseille and Lyon over Cissé's transfer he suffered another double fracture of the tibia and fibula, this time of his right leg, in a friendly for France against China. He missed the World Cup but a loan deal was agreed that took him to Marseille in July 2006. Cissé scored 15 goals in 25 games including two in the cup final against Sochaux which Marseille lost after a penalty shoot-out. After lengthy negotiations, the player was sold to Marseille early in July 2007 for a fee of £6 million. Cissé scored 22 goals in 50 matches for Marseille in 2007/08 but he wanted a return to England where his wife was still living. In August 2008 he signed a one-year loan deal with Sunderland where he played 38 games and scored 11 goals. He struggled for goals in the second half of the season so the Black Cats didn't take up the option to sign him. Cissé returned to Marseille but within a few weeks, the French club had negotiated a £6.8million transfer that took him to Panathinaikos.

Djibril Cissé's 23 league goals helped Panathinaikos to the Greek championship in 2010. His club also won the Greek cup to complete a domestic double. He added another twenty goals in his second full season in Greece and his efficiency secured him a four-year contract with Italian Serie A club Lazio in July 2011. He had only scored five goals in 27 matches when he returned to England a few months later and signed for Queens Park Rangers. Cissé's first few weeks with the west-London club were certainly eventful. He scored on his debut at Aston Villa but was sent off in the next match against Wolves. He then scored against Liverpool before being again dismissed, at Sunderland. On the final day of the season, he scored at Manchester City and although Rangers lost they retained their place in the Premier League because Bolton could only draw at Stoke City. Incredibly, Cissé had either scored or been sent off in the eight matches he played for Rangers between 1 February and 13 May! QPR struggled under Mark Hughes in the 2012/13 season and Cissé, who had only scored one league goal come November, was criticised by a QPR fan on Twitter who claimed Cissé "couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo". Cissé, in turn, responded on the popular social medium: “Come and have a chat big man. When u feel like talking to me face to face just come,” posting QPR’s training-ground address. Cissé was loaned to Al Gharafa in Qatar in January 2013.

Qatar became the fifth different country in which Cissé had played professionally and he made a good start there playing nine times in the Qatar Stars League, scoring once; plus he appeared nine times (four goals) in the AFC Champions League tournament. However, once this loan-spell was over, Cissé left Queens Park Rangers by mutual consent and became a free agent on 1 July 2013. Cissé signed a one-year deal with Russian club Kuban Krasnodar during the summer of 2013 but after playing in twenty-four matches for them, scoring 5 goals, he signed an 18-month deal with French club Bastia on New Year's Day 2014. By the end of his first half-season with the Corsican club he had netted twice in eleven matches and those two goals took his career club total close to the two hundred and fifty mark. In the summer of 2015, Cisse left Bastia and joined Saint Pierroise, who play in the French Indian Ocean territory of La Reunion in the sixth tier of French football, but played just once and announced his retirement from the game in October that year.

In the summer of 2017, Cisse came out of retirement, joining Swiss third-tier side Yverdon Sport. He enjoyed a prolific season, scoring 24 times in 29 appearances. In August 2018 he signed a contract with Italy's Vicenza 1902, a phoenix club of Vicenza. However, their application to join Serie D was refused and he was left in career limbo. Two months later he gave an interview to French magazine So Foot, claiming he had not been made aware of the full circumstances of the clubs position. He did not rule out a return to playing but did stress he had plenty of endorsement work ongoing. In May 2020, he announced his desire to make it to one hundred goals in Ligue 1 and said he was willing to play for free if any club agreed to give him the opportunity. 
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 49 6 0 23 1 79
2004-2005 16 0 0 9 0 25
2005-2006 33 6 0 14 1 54
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
7 270 Chelsea
4 190 Tottenham
4 175 Portsmouth
4 154 Manchester United
3 283 West Ham United
3 258 Charlton Athletic
3 257 WBA
3 231 Aston Villa
3 218 Blackburn Rovers
3 202 Fulham
3 96 Bolton Wanderers
3 57 Middlesbrough
2 173 CSKA Sofia
2 164 Grazer AK
2 140 Manchester City
2 134 FBK Kaunas
2 108 Newcastle United
2 104 TNS
2 93 Anderlecht
2 56 Real Betis
2 54 Arsenal
2 52 Benfica
2 41 Birmingham City
2 35 Wigan Athletic
1 90 Everton
1 90 Deportivo Sap.
1 88 Luton Town
1 76 Deportivo
1 75 Sunderland
1 71 Norwich City
1 69 AS Monaco
1 41 CSKA Moscow
1 35 AC Milan
1 22 Crystal Palace
1 17 Olympiacos
1 15 Juventus
Total Started/substitutions
43 Started
3 On the bench
36 Substitute
23 Substituted
Total Venue
39 Away
35 Home
5 Neutral
Total Competition
49 Premier League
22 Champions League
6 FA Cup
1 European Super Cup
1 World Club Championship
Total W D L Win % Manager
79 49 15 15 62% Rafa Benítez
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 13 2 0 9 0 24
2004-2005 4 0 0 1 0 5
2005-2006 9 2 0 8 0 19
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 2 1 0 1 1 5
2004-2005 1 0 0 0 0 1
2005-2006 1 1 0 1 1 4
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 10.08.2004 Grazer AK Arnold S. Stadion Europe
50 03.12.2005 Wigan Athletic Anfield League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 37 14.08.2004 Tottenham White Hart Lane League
Related Articles
Djibril can win his battle

LIVERPOOL'S Djibril Cisse will find inspiration within his own dressing room as he begins a painful rehabilitation from an horrific broken leg today. From 1 November 2004.

Happier Cisse now chasing 20 goals

An article by Paul Walker in the Liverpool Daily Post on 21 October 2005.

Djibril can win his battle. I overcame same injury

Written by Chris Bascombe for the Liverpool Echo on 1 November 2004.

Cisse back on target

The Telegraph match report on Liverpool - Aston Villa on 15.05.2005.

Djibril Cissé - Le grande enigma

I'm a big fan of Cissé, but his inconsistency doesn't stretch match to match, but minute to minute. It’s enough to leave you pulling out your Mohican. Article from Paul Tomkins in January 2006.

Benitez unmoved by Cissé's best shot

By Andy Hunter at The Independent. Published: 23 November 2005.

Daily Post report

Match report from the Daily Post on Liverpool vs Blackburn on 13.10.2005

Cissé off the bench to inspire victory

Liverpool 3-1 CSKA Moscow (aet) on 26 August 2005.

Pimp my bride! - Cissé's wedding photo

Djibril Cissé and Jude Littler got married on 18th June 2005 in Bodelwyddan Castle in north Wales. Cissé wore an outrageous red three-piece suit.

Cissé becomes Lord of the Manor of Frodsham

Djibril became the Lord of the Manor of Frodsham in 2005 when he bought a house in Frodsham for £2m. The previous owner Raymond Longster sold the title along with the estate.

Cissé's amazing recovery

Djibril Cissé talked about his remarkable recovery from double fractured leg on liverpoolfc.tv in April 2005.

The severity of Cisse's injury

Liverpool's doctor talks about Cisse's injury on liverpoolfc.tv

Djibril Cissé in profile

Djibril Cissé who made a deal with Liverpool in January to join them on the 1st of July 2004 is the king of the scoring charts in the French league for the second time in the last three seasons.

Related Quotes

"I was worried about getting back my acceleration. But in the tests, I was the one who jumped the highest and ran the fastest. No one at Liverpool can beat me. Djibril is back!"

Djibril Cissé was in good spirits after recovering from a double leg break

"I'm not yet at Thierry Henry's level. I don't think you can compare us as players at the moment because it's an insult to Thierry Henry.

People often try to compare me to him when he was starting off, but there are still light years between us. Maybe we've got speed in common, but he's more subtle. I'm a real brute compared to him. But I try and draw inspiration from him."

Cissé on July 1st 2004

"My bones were overlapping and I had no circulation in my foot. They had to give me drugs to help with the pain and then they had to pull my bones back into place with their hands. If they had waited until I had got to the hospital I might have lost my leg - it was that serious."

Cissé describes his horror leg break

"Djibril had a rough year, playing out of position, and I know he didn't get on with Rafa too well, it was no surprise when he moved to Marseille. Djibril's a bit different. Some of his decisions to do with clothes, cars, tattoos and hair have me shaking my head in disbelief, but as a person Djibril's a great lad, and really caring. He'll do anything for you. I won't miss his colourful clothes, but I will miss his bright personality. I hope he enjoys better luck at Marseille than he had at Liverpool. He will always be remembered at Anfield for that Cardiff belter."

Steven Gerrard on Djibril Cissé

"Liverpool is one of the most ruthless teams in the world. Switch off for a split-second against them and they will make you pay. That's their hallmark. I could go on forever about their brilliant individuals, but they wouldn't be half the force without the organisation, commitment, intensity and the backing of the Kop."

Djibril Cissé on the power of the Kop in October 2007

"From a personal point of view, I don't feel I have anything to prove to Liverpool or Rafa Benitez. Obvious, I was irritated by his decision to play me wide on the right at times as it's well known that I'm at my best through the middle. Still, this discussion is in the past now. I had my difficult moments in Liverpool, especially when I broke my leg at Blackburn, but I generally look at my two seasons there as a positive experience.

I scored goals and played my part in the club winning the FA Cup and Champions League so overall, Liverpool was good for me. How could it be otherwise? Coming from three-nil down to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final was the greatest moment of my career and nothing can ever top it. What we achieved that night in Istanbul was incredible. On reflection I don't know how we managed it, but we did and this sort of fairy story could only happen at a club with such a glorious European pedigree as Liverpool."

Djibril Cissé on his Liverpool career in October 2007

Scrapbook
2005
2005
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Auxerre 1998-1999 France 1 1 0 2 0
Auxerre 1999-2000 France 1 2 0 4 0
Auxerre 2000-2001 France 1 25 8 46 15
Auxerre 2001-2002 France 1 29 22 31 24
Auxerre 2002-2003 France 1 33 14 49 21
Auxerre 2003-2004 France 1 38 26 52 30
Marseille 2006-2007 France 1 21 8 30 15
Marseille 2007-2008 France 1 35 16 60 22
Marseille 2008-2009 France 1 2 0 3 0
Sunderland 2008-2009 England Premier League 35 10 38 11
Panathinaikos 2009-2010 Greece 1 28 23 46 29
Panathinaikos 2010-2011 Greece 1 33 20 43 22
Lazio 2011-2012 Italy Seria A 18 1 27 5
QPR 2011-2012 England Premier League 8 6 8 6
QPR 2012-2013 England Premier League 18 3 21 4
Al Gharafa 2012-2013 Qatar 1 9 1 17 5
Kuban Krasnodar 2013-2014 Russia 1 15 4 25 5
Bastia 2013-2014 France 1 15 2 15 2
Bastia 2014-2015 France 1 6 0 10 4
JS Saint-Pierroise 2015-2016 France 6 1 0 1 0
Yverdon Sport 2017-2018 Switzerland 3 29 24 29 24
Total 401 188 557 244