Former Liverpool midfielder Mohammed Sissoko has revealed in an interview with Telecomasia.net that he was really sad to hear that legendary manager Jurgen Klopp was leaving Liverpool, but he admits he has been very impressed with what new manager Arne Slot is doing, having taken them to the top of the league table.
In 2005, the Mali-born midfielder, who grew up in France, moved from Valencia to Liverpool, following in the footsteps of manager Rafael Benitez. Together, they won the FA Cup, and Sissoko formed a terrific partnership with Steven Gerrard.
Sissoko played 51 games for Liverpool between 2005 and 2008. Now a club ambassador, he told Telecom Asia Sport in an exclusive interview that he’s impressed with what he’s seen from Slot, even though he was sad to see Klopp leave.
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He said: “For Arne Slot, this is a new challenge, and for everyone at the club. I mean, for Liverpool to go for him means he has the potential to keep the club competitive and that he has something special.
“If I’m being truly honest, I was really sad when I heard the news that Klopp was leaving. But that is in the past now, so we need to support the new manager because we all want to maintain the standards we had under Klopp.
“We all have to be honest with ourselves. The standards Klopp kept were very high, and most Liverpool fans would have been really down with the news in the summer. But we are in good hands, and we are already looking like we are going places.”
Slot still has a long way to go, given that Klopp won nine trophies — including the Premier League and the Champions League. He just doesn’t yet have the aura that made everyone at Anfield fall in love with Klopp.
But Sissoko says Slot doesn’t need to be Klopp; he just needs to be himself, and that’s exactly what he’s been doing: “I think every manager is different. He has his own personality; he needs to be his own man and bring his own success.
“When you first come in, you don't want to change too much too early, but after some time, you bring your best version and create your own path. I’m really excited for him because I want him to be successful. The beauty of him is that he’s been able to convince that group of players that he can take them to another level.
“That is not an easy thing to do — coming into Liverpool and convincing the likes of Salah and Van Dijk that you can be the one to make them better. So far, they are buying into it.”
These days, Sissoko helps up-and-coming footballers, but in his prime, he not only played for Liverpool but also for Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Fiorentina, and Auxerre, among others.
He recently returned to Liverpool, where he played in a legends' game, and he admits he doesn’t envy the younger generation as he has had a good life. He feels that not many things are better than being a Liverpool legend.
He added: “When we meet as ex-players, you can feel the vibe and the way the fans treat us. To be honest, I have had a career at other places, but it’s special at Liverpool.
“It’s a beautiful feeling to be able to say, when you finish playing your career, that you played for a club like Liverpool. And now, being an ambassador is also quite telling.
“These days, there is a new generation of players, and our time is slowly passing. But that’s life, and I don’t envy anyone. I look at them and say to the ones I know: go and enjoy it because it doesn’t last forever, but the memories do.”
Sissoko was born in France and represented the French team at the youth level before playing for Mali, the country of his parents. He admits he’s been keeping tabs on his country’s struggles as they failed to impress at AFCON and are now struggling in World Cup qualifiers. Mali have won only one of their last four games, which was their last AFCON qualifier against Eswatini.
They have hired Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet, who is hoping to return Mali to the heights they reached when Sissoko was playing and helped them finish fourth and third in the AFCON competition.
Sissoko said about Mali’s football challenges: “Now, with Mali, there are a lot of problems, if we’re being honest. We have a good team; we have very good young players, but what we need going forward is stability. If you don’t have stability, you can’t be successful.
“We need that. I hope we can now look forward, get some stability, and hopefully still recover to qualify for the World Cup and maybe win the Africa Nations Cup next year.”
One of the top-performing African players in the Premier League at the moment is Malian midfielder Yves Bissouma at Tottenham. His style of play is similar to Sissoko’s, and he tells Telecom Asia that he keeps an eye on Bissouma’s games because they are friends, but also because they are both Malians, and he wants him to do well.
He added: “I like Biss (Bissouma). I watch a lot of his games, and he’s doing well, but we need more of his type. He’s from my country, and he’s very young with the potential to be one of the best. He has really good quality for Mali, and he needs to be really good for Spurs too. I think this season will be massive for him.”
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