October 15, 2024

Cissé's Journey with the Lions of Teranga Comes to an End

Cissé's Journey with the Lions of Teranga Comes to an End
photo/Courtesy

Under Cissé's leadership, Senegal qualified for the 2018 World Cup where they were eliminated in the group stage due to the fair play rule. Despite this setback, the team showed significant growth and

Senegal national team coach Aliou Cisse’s journey has come to an end after the Senegalese Football Federation opted not to extend his contract. According to the newspaper Sud Quotidien, Aliou Cissé's contract, which has now expired, will not be renewed. "The contract linking national coach Aliou Cissé to the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) will not be renewed. This is the decision of the new authorities," the source reports.

Cisse’, a former captain of the Lions of Teranga took charge of the team in March of 2015 and was able to lead Senegal to it’s first ever African Cup of Nations title in 2022. However, he has faced scrutiny recently due to a series of poor results. 

Under Cissé's leadership, Senegal qualified for the 2018 World Cup where they were eliminated in the group stage due to the fair play rule. Despite this setback, the team showed significant growth and reached the AFCON final in 2019, their first since 2002 but lost to Algeria by a lone goal.

In spite of the setback, Cisse’ was back again in the limelight 2022 when his team managed to reach the AFCON finals, edging out Egypt in penalty shootouts to lift the title. 

“Aliou Cisse has given so much to Senegalese football, but the time has come for a new direction,” an FSF member stated.

The reports indicate that FSF is already in process of searching for his successor with a Senegalese coach being the main priority.