Salim Cisse

Date of Birth	Nationality	Current Club	Position	Strengths		Weakness	Transfer Rumour	Market Value	Similar Players
				Physical	Technical
24/10/1992	Guinea	Sporting CP	CF/LF	Pace, Strength, Aerial	Att. Positioning, Movement, Passing, Finishing	-	-	-	-

Salim Cisse is a 20-year-old forward who plays for Sporting Club de Portugal in the Portuguese Primera Liga. Salim Cisse’s story however began in his home country of Guinea. At the age of 16, his parents made the decision to flee the country due to the instability that was in the country following the military coup by Moussa Dadis Camara. He and his family ended up in Rome, with no knowledge of Italian and no legal papers. Salim’s big break came in September of 2009 where he was spotted with a friend of his watching an amateur football team named Borgo Massimina play near via del Casale in one of the lowest divisions in Italian Football. He was invited by the coach Stefano Piermattei to join up with the boys the following day. However, he turned up without a pair of boots. In the words of coach Piermattei who said: “He was with his friend Samuel, they had nothing, stop at the parking lot. They asked to play. We were at the beginning of the preparation, I told him yes. They returned the next day with a plastic bag, did not even have the bathrobe to take a shower, let alone his boots. That a black guy could be reasonably physically strong was not a surprise, but when I finished the athletic side and picked up the ball, I was astonished. Salim was from another planet, we notice his talent, took only a few minutes of training”. From then on he participated with the team in training and friendly matches, however due to his status as an “illegal immigrant” he was unable to play in competitive matches while the club were working on helping him gain the status of “international Refugee”. This was granted in April 2011, when he was finally permitted as an international refugee.

His dream began here; he then started playing for Serie D team Atletico Arezzo. He scored 13 goals in 27 games for the club and won the award for “Most Surprising Player of the Season”. The following season in June 2012 after being scouted by Portuguese Clubs Academica, they signed him on a 3 year deal till 2015. He was immediately placed into the starting line up and scored on his league debut against Beira-Mar in a 3-3 draw on the 20^th of August 2012. He went on to feature in 24 league games that season, starting 14 and coming off the bench 10 times. He netted 6 times in the league that season, including a goal against Portuguese giants Benfica. He also featured in last year’s Europa League for Academica starting 3 matches and coming on for another 3 matches. He provided 3 assists as well as scoring twice in the Europa League, including a nice header against Atletico Madrid. In January he was attracting attention from clubs such as Porto, Lazio, Fulham, Benfica and Spartak Moscow, however he chose to stay at Academica and continue his season there. In the summer of 2013 he moved to Sporting CP 300,000+ Euros (plus Bonuses). He has not made any league appearances for the club, however, following his stellar performance in last year’s edition he is sure to get some game time. He made his debut for the National Team on the 14^th of August against Algeria. Algeria had taken a 2-0 lead before half time. However, Salim came on at half time and scored both goals to help his team draw the match.

Salim is a fantastic player; he is very strong and is very capable of holding defenders until an attacking teammate joins him. His movement, awareness and attacking positioning are also fantastic, which contribute to the many headers he has scored. His Aerial ability is extremely good due to his height and he is a nightmare for defenders to mark during attacking set pieces. Another great attribute he possesses is his pace. He enjoys the ball at his feet and can dribble past a lot of opponents due to his pace. He has a good footballing eye and knows when to make a pass when he is under pressure, normally making a very good attacking pass to a teammate. He is a player to watch out for in the future. His life has taken a huge turn for the good, and it can only get better from here. He is determined and focused and is an extremely gifted player. I have decided to leave the ‘Similar Players’ column blank, as he is a player that has achieved a lot from very little and deserves to make his mark on his own, without being touted as the “Next” someone.

A player who was still in Guinea 3 years ago, without professional coaching until then, has been able to impress from Serie D, to Portuguese Primera Liga and Europa League in the space of 3 years. He is a real talent that is ready to be unleashed and  I am really looking forward to seeing Salim play more. I hope that all his dreams come true and I am routing for him all the way.

Video of his Performances at Academica: http://vimeo.com/53348654