Ali Sissoko is a French footballer currently playing for the English Aston Villa. This year he turned 29 years old, however, unfortunately, for him the peak of his career has been a relatively long time. Ali Sissoko plays as a left-back, and if you want to know about the sharp rise and equally sudden fall of this player, then this article is for you.
Carier start
Ali Sissoko was born on September 15, 1987 in France, into a family of Senegalese immigrants. At the age of eight, he ended up at the football academy of the tiny Blois club, based in the boy’s hometown. It was an amateur club, like the next one, in which Sissoko moved four years later. He spent another four years at Flua Foote, until in 2003 he went through a viewing at the club of one of the lower French divisions Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, in the academy of which he began to study.
Only in 2004, a 17-year-old guy was able to go to the club playing in the second league, “Genyon”, it was with him in 2005 that Ali Sissoko signed a professional contract, but did not receive a place at the base. Moreover, he was in deep reserve and was transferred to the double. Until 2007, Ali only received game practice in the second team, having entered the field in the 06/07 season only twice. However, the progress of the young man was obvious, so in the next season they began to release him more often. He spent 23 matches and attracted the attention of the Portuguese scouts, who in the summer of 2008 invited the 28-year-old defender to the Setubal Vitoria. The Frenchman’s contract with Genion ended, and Ali moved to Portugal as a free agent.
Going to Vitoria
Transfer to Vitoria benefited Ali Sissoko: the footballer began to progress quite quickly and already in the first half of the season reserved a place for himself at the base, having played in 18 matches. The scouts of one of the country's strongest clubs “Porto” did not doze off, and already in the winter of 2009, young talent went to conquer new peaks - “Vitoria” received 300 thousand euros for it.
A sharp rise in the "Port"
Ali Sissoko, whose photos began to appear in all sports magazines, simply surprised the world of football. He came to the top club at the age of 21, having played at a high level for only six months, and immediately began to work miracles. He played 23 matches, seriously participated in the fact that his team immediately won both the Portuguese Championship and the Portuguese Cup. Naturally, the interest in him was simply unbelievable - the leading European clubs lined up to sign Sissoko, and in June 2009 the transfer to Milan was almost a decided thing, but it broke due to a medical examination that Ali could not get through. His health did not satisfy Milan, but his native Lyon gladly agreed to pay 16 million euros for a rising star. So at 22, Sissoko returned to a comfortable environment in the status of a young talent. What went wrong?
Return to France
In “Lyon” Sissoko started perfectly: already in the first season he played in 48 matches, scoring one goal. In the second and third seasons, he was also in the club in leading roles, however, the hype around his figure subsided, Ali stopped progressing, and over time, an obvious decline became noticeable in his game. And in the summer of 2012, the Frenchman in the status of a rather mediocre player moved to Valencia for six million euros.
The game for Valencia
The “Valencia” clearly expected that the same Sissoko would come to them that shone in the “Port” and in the beginning in the “Lyon”, but this was already a completely different player. Therefore, after playing 36 matches, Ali went on loan to Liverpool, where he spent 19 matches in six months, not impressing the British. They refused to redeem the rights to the player, but he made an impression on Aston Villa, which paid two and a half million euros to acquire a defender.
Relocation to England
For “Aston Villa” Sissoko played one season, having entered the field 27 times. After that, he was sent for rent to Porto for six months, where he once showed incredible football, but entered the field there in only two matches. Returning to England, Sissoko has played 11 matches for the club this season, the contract with which he has been designed until the summer of 2018.
Team appearances
Ali was first called to the French national team in March 2010, but he was only able to make his debut for the team in August 2010 in a friendly match against the Norwegian national team. Unfortunately, this performance was the only one in his career: he was no longer called to the Sissoko team.