Djibril Cissé

Djibril Cissé (born 12 August 1981 in Arles, France) is a French international football player of Ivorian descent who plays as a striker for both France and Olympique Marseille (on loan from ). He is noted particularly for his speed and acceleration, but also for his often eye-catching hairstyles.

Career

AJ Auxerre

Cissé signed for the French club Auxerre at the age of 15, and made his international debut against Belgium in May 2002. He won the French Cup with Auxerre in May 2003, and the Confederations Cup with France a month later.

Cissé was also the top scorer in the French Ligue 1 in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons. He scored 70 goals in 128 league games for Auxerre before signing for Liverpool in a deal worth over £14 million. Liverpool had pursued Cissé for a long time, and it was an open secret that the then Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier admired Cissé's qualities.

Liverpool

At Liverpool, Cissé scored 5 goals in 23 first-team games in all competitions for Liverpool in the 2004-05 season. He had only played 19 games for Liverpool when he broke his left leg playing against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on October 30 2004. The injury was not a result of a tackle as was initially thought, but rather from an awkward fall as his foot appeared to be caught in the turf.

Cissé later revealed that had it not been for prompt attention from the trainers at the stadium (who had to pull his bones back into place with their hands), he would probably have lost the leg below the knee. He had pins inserted in the leg, and was expected to be out of action for the rest of the 2004-05 season. However, it was reported in late March 2005 that Cissé's recovery had advanced enough to enable him to return to action by the end of the season.

This indeed happened on April 13, when Cissé came on as a substitute in the 75th minute of the second leg of Liverpool's Champions League quarter-final tie with Juventus. He went on to score both Liverpool goals in their last Premiership match of the season, a 2-1 win over Aston Villa, and also converted one of the penalties in Liverpool's penalty shootout win over AC Milan in the Champions League final.

During the 2005-06 season Benítez deployed Cissé on the right wing on numerous occasions. While his remarkable pace made him well suited to such a role, it was questioned whether he would be happy continuing to be used in this way rather than in his preferred position as striker.

Since Summer 2005, the media had linked Cissé with a move away from Anfield. This speculation intensified over the course of the season due to the lack of starting appearances, as well as his being used out of position.

On July 2nd 2006, Cisse admitted on Sky Sports that Rafa Benitez is forcing him out of the club. As expected, he has now joined Olympique Marseille on a season-long loan for 2006/07.

World Cup 2006

Cissé was included in the French squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. However, in France's final warm up match against China on 7 June he suffered a broken right leg. Ten minutes into the game he was knocked off balance by a defender and fell with his right leg twisting under him, buckling above the ankle. "He screamed in horrific pain," said Thierry Henry. "I was right next to him when it happened." Immediate surgery to repair his open fractured tibia followed, ruling him out of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, it had been reported that a transfer to Olympique de Marseille had been agreed. It had been thought that, due to the nature of the injury, even though he is expected to make a quick recovery, his transfer would be postponed until, at least, the January transfer window. However, both Marseille and Cissé himself have expressed a desire to continue negotiations, with Cissé saying that he personally expects that, despite medical predictions of an October return, he will be playing in September.

Personal life

In June 2005, Djibril Cissé married Jude Littler, a Welsh hairdresser from Angelsey. The wedding took place at Bodelwyddan Castle, with notable guests including Cissé's French national team mates, Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Zinedine Zidane. Chelsea's winger Shaun Wright-Phillips was also in attendance. Cissé married in a tuxedo in the red of Liverpool. In October 2005, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. On 7 March 2006, Jude gave birth to a son named Cassius. Cissé also has a daughter named Ilona who was born in 2001.

In October 2005, he accepted a caution from the police for hitting a 15-year-old boy while filming an advert in Docklands, East London. Another caution was to follow in January 2006 following an alleged assault on his then-pregnant wife.

Trivia

Cissé purchased a house in Frodsham in Cheshire soon after his transfer to Liverpool. With the house came an honorary title so he is now a Lord of the Manor (but not a member of the peerage). Shortly after the house purchase he closed a previously well-used route through his property thereby stopping the local hunt from continuing its activities. (Note: the 'local hunt' story is largely urban myth. The Daily Mirror asked him if he would allow hunting on his land, he said 'no'. Unfortunately for the story, there's no hunt to ban. The footpath is still there.)
He posed nude for the 2006 Dievx Dv Stade calendar, showing off the angel's wings he has tattooed on his back as well as another ornate tattoo of the star of David on his right leg.
Originally was a Muslim but converted to the Christian faith.

Statistics

**Club Performance**
Club	Season	Premiership		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Others		Total
Club	Season	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Liverpool FC	2005-06	33	9	6	2			14	8	1		54	19
Liverpool FC	2004-05	16	4					9	1			25	5
Club	Season	Ligue 1		French Cup		Ligue Cup		Europe		Others		Total
Club	Season	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Auxerre	2003-04	38	26	3	1	4	1	7	2			52	30
	2002-03	33	14	6	6			6	1			45	21
	2001-02	29	22			2	2					31	24
	2000-01	25	8	4	5	2	1	4	1			35	15
	1999-00	2										2	0
	1998-99	1										1	0
Total		177	83	19	14	8	4	40	13	1	0	245	114