There was little question about the player in command on the field as Senegal began their golden year of 2002, which saw them get to their first World Cup quarterfinal and Africa Cup of Nations final.
With the exception of one injury-related absence, Teranga Lions captain Aliou Cisse was tough, steadfast, and extremely professional. Cisse served as the messenger for head coach Bruno Metsu during all 12 of the team’s matches.
Rallying a group of people as different as El Hadji Diouf, Khalilou Fadiga, and Henri Camara, among others, was no easy task for someone who was willing to take the full weight of the responsibility upon himself.
But barely three months after the World Cup’s dizzying highs, when they defeated the reigning champions France and became the first African team to advance to the round of 8, Cisse’s leadership skills were needed once more, but in the worst possible situations.
Late in September, a ferry accident off the coast of The Gambia, which is surrounded by Senegal, claimed the lives of 11 members of Cisse’s family, including his sister. The accident has been dubbed “Africa’s Titanic.”
2022 FIFA World Cup: Who is the coach for Senegal?
Aliou Cisse is the coach of Senegal. Cisse had only been playing for Birmingham City for two months at the time, and he was getting ready for a match against Newcastle United two days later.
In Ziguinchor, where Cisse was raised, a large number of his family were also boarding the Joola ferry at the same time.
The Joola traveled between the Casamance, a district in southern Senegal and the home of current Teranga Lions star Sadio Mane, and the capital Dakar, avoiding The Gambia, which is located in the center of Senegal’s horseshoe-shaped country.
The government-run Joola had only recently, and to great fanfare, started operation after being out of commission for a year for maintenance and repairs.
