| MOMO SISSOKO PROFILE
by Neil Godfrey Date of Birth - 22/01/85
Nationality - Mali
Position - Midfield
Squad Number - 22
Cost - £5m
Club Hons (Lpool) - Super Cup 2006, FA Cup 2006
Club Hons (other) - Spanish Championship 2005, UEFA Cup 2005
Intnl Hons - Mali Caps
Other Clubs - Valencia |
Mohamed Lamine Sissoko, better known as Momo, arrived at Anfield in July 2005 as a relative unknown. Over the course of the following season he established himself firmly as a fans’ favourite and one of the brightest prospects in English football.
Momo was born in Rouen in France, to Malian parents. He began his career as a striker at Auxerre, but despite being a prolific scorer for the youth team he failed to make an appearance for the first team. In 2003, at the age of 18, he was signed for Valencia by Rafa Benitez, who converted him into the dynamic hard-tackling central midfielder that we know today. Momo made 20 appearances for Valencia in their title-winning season of 2003/04.
Momo represented France at under-21 level, but chose to commit his senior international career to the country of his parents, Mali, and featured for them in both the African Cup of Nations and the Olympics in 2004.
Momo was reunited with his former boss at Anfield in 2005 when Rafa signed him from under the noses of Everton. Initially Momo was expected by many to be a squad player, but when Steven Gerrard was moved to right midfield after the Reds failed to sign a winger that summer, Momo was presented with the chance to cement his place in the first eleven. He took that chance magnificently, injecting much-needed energy and steel into the Liverpool midfield.
Momo made 45 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, culminating in an outstanding individual performance in the FA Cup Final, where his exceptional energy levels helped him to carry his exhausted team-mates through extra time and on to victory.
Often overlooked by the media in favour of the more visible midfield talents of Gerrard and Alonso, Momo is nonetheless recognised and loved by Reds fans as one of the most consistent and committed performers in the current Liverpool team. In a side that has at times been accused of lacking heart and self-belief, Momo possesses these qualities in abundance. For him there is simply no such thing as a lost cause.
Momo is still a raw talent, with considerable room for improvement in several aspects of his game. His tackles can be rash and his passing wayward at times, and his attacking contribution to Liverpool’s play is often limited. Surprisingly for a former striker, he is still to find the net for the Reds. His first goal in a Liverpool shirt promises to be a special moment, but time is on his side as far as his development is concerned.
Momo’s Liverpool career to date has been marred by two serious injuries. The first was a horrific eye injury sustained during a Champions League game in Barcelona in February 2006. When he was diagnosed with severe damage to his right retina after receiving an accidental kick to the head, there were genuine fears for his career and even for his eyesight. However he confounded expectations by returning to the side just a month later in an FA Cup tie at Birmingham City. He memorably started the game wearing a pair of custom-made protective goggles, before abandoning them as they began to mist up. He has opted not to wear them while playing despite the potential risk of further damage to his eye, a decision that exemplifies his fearless attitude.
It was back at St Andrew’s that Momo picked up his second major injury, in a League Cup game in November 2006. An awkward fall saw him dislocate his shoulder, which required surgery and kept him out for three months. The nature of the injury raised fears that Momo could potentially suffer the type of recurring shoulder problems that plagued Bryan Robson’s career, but it would be a big mistake to think that this might affect his combative style of play in any way.
Momo has been likened by his manager and others to a young Patrick Vieira, and for once the comparison is justified. His resemblance to the former Arsenal man is marked out not only by his workrate and tackling, but also by an accomplished close control when under pressure from opponents that isn’t always widely recognised. Momo may not be as technically proficient as Vieira, but on the other hand it’s all but impossible to imagine him going missing in big games, in the way that the Frenchman has notably done on a number of occasions for club and country.
Few who follow his career would dispute that Momo Sissoko is already one of the finest defensive midfielders in the Premiership. His many admirers would go further, and suggest that if he can improve his distribution and develop the attacking side of his game, he has the potential to become one of the best central midfielders in the world.
