In the precocious genre, Ibrahim Cissé also has something to say. At 22, the Shalke defender has been a professional for two years and has already established himself as an indisputable starter for Mali's U23s. This could open the door for him to join the Eagles of Mali.
Ibrahim Cissé is a name we heard back in 2020, when he joined Mali's U20 squad for the U20 AFCON qualifiers in Mauritania. But under Mamoutou Kane, then coach of the Malian juniors, the 1.96m tall French-trained Châteauroux player and his team-mates were eliminated from the competition after losing the first match to Covid-19 and losing the second. The Aigles U20, then reigning African champions, will not see the final phase, despite winning the last match.
A good defender for individual marking
The young Ibrahim Cissé, who had fallen off the radar, returned to the limelight when Alou Badra Diallo, aka Conty, took charge of the U23s.A top performer with Shalke04, he was selected for Mali's U23 national team, with whom he finished less than a week ago in the starting eleven for the competition organized by Morocco from June 24 to July 8, 2023. His coach Alou Badra Diallo is full of praise for him. "He's a boy with a lot of defensive and athletic qualities. He's also very technical.He uses his height a lot.He's got a good head game, he's got the skills of a good defender," he declared.
The Aigles Espoir coach added: "He has great confidence in himself. In individual marking, he's a really good player, he has all the qualities you need to be a good defender". A natural leader
This central defender (1.96 m) has all the qualities of a modern player in his position: technical, able to contribute offensively from set-pieces with good head movement, a leader at heart with self-confidence. All these qualities could convince Éric Sékou Chelle to call him up to the senior team for Mali's next qualifier for the 2023 AFCON in Bamako and the friendly against Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan in September.
"For me, he was one of the key men in qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.He's a natural leader in the group, and with his performances he was able to create this alchemy between the expatriates and the locals, making the rest of the job much easier for coach Alou Badra Diallo and his staff," explains Malian journalist Kadia Bagayoyo.
Ibrahim Cissé is one of the players who impressed Eric Chelle
Our colleague Kadidia Bagayogo has been following the player's performances since his debut for the U20 national team, the U23 AFCON qualifiers and the final phase.For her, to say he's on the doorstep of the Aigles A would be an understatement. She asserts that he has all the cards in hand to get there. "He's one of a handful of players who made a huge impression on national coach Eric Sékou Chelle during his stay in Morocco. And with the huge problem he has with his central hinge, Cissé seems to be the ideal profile," says Bagayogo.
"I think Ibrahim Cissé himself knows that he has to make a few efforts to be in the national team. All these youngsters (Mali's U23s) are on the doorstep of the national team, it's not easy, but they have to work.It's not easy, but they've got to work hard. They've got to be regulars with their clubs," explains the assistant to Mali's national coach.
