Liverpool fans spent a chunk of last week remembering a former midfielder whom they will never forget, as Xabi 'he's put the rebound in' Alonso announced his retirement from football.
This week, they are reminded of the travails of one of his long-forgotten former teammates: Momo Sissoko. The French-born Mali international was perhaps fortunate to be included in a Liverpool chant hailing the "best midfield in the world" along with Gerrard, Alonso, and Mascherano. Lucas Leiva, for example, did not make that cut, with Sissoko presumably helped by the easy rhyming scheme offered by his surname.
In fairness to Sissoko, he was no flop at Anfield: while he was largely hopeless on the ball, he was a tough-tackling midfielder who could be relied upon by Rafa Benitez to implement a conservative game plan. He also overcame a terrifying eye injury sustained away to Benfica to return to action for Liverpool sporting David-style protective glasses, before tossing them away within minutes when he found them fogging up.
Sissoko left Liverpool for Juventus in 2008, and made more than seventy appearances for the side before moving to PSG. From there, his existence became peripatetic: he was loaned to Fiorentina, then joined Levante, and then left Europe: he had stints with Shanghai Shenhua, Pune City before joining Ternana of Serie B 25 days ago, currently propping up
Remarkably, Sissoko has now left Ternana already, having gone rogue.
He refused to sit on the bench for Sunday's game with Trapani when named there by manager Fabio Liverani, and the ensuing fall-out has seen the club cancel his contract. It means that Sissoko's contribution to the club is a total of 25 minutes against Verona.
[The Sun]
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