Mane and I Have a Father-Son Relationship – Senegal’s Coach Cisse

After the Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) coronation in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the coach of the Senegal national team, Aliou Cissé took time to talk about his influential player Sadio Mane. ‘El tactico’ as he’s fondly called maintained that it does not date from today and many things bind them.

“There were times when we had problems,” said the coach without specifying when exactly. “We have a father-son relationship there are often misunderstandings. But Sadio is a competitor. That he dedicates this trophy to me is a beautiful thing, because he has never disappointed me. He does everything I tell him.”

He notably mentioned the session of the penalty series and his relationship with Sadio Mané.

When asked how he experienced Mané’s missed penalty in the 7th minute of play, Cissé answered. “I didn’t even look. They told me he missed and we moved on. We can’t come into competition thinking that we have to settle a match in 20 minutes, a match lasts 90 minutes”.

The nicknamed El Tactico added: “We let the players know that they had to adopt a different attitude because they are in the national team, each lost match is synonymous with controversy. For the penalty shootouts, it is true that the players choose the shooters, but I have a list of 10 to 12 players that I would force to shoot no matter what.”

For Cissé, the penalty is a technical gesture and you have to be concentrated to do it well. “I had in mind the memories of 2002 when I missed this penalty. It was a debt that I had to repay to the Senegalese people. I would like to bring the cup back to Senegal as a player, but it was done as a coach.”