SENEGAL boss Aliou Cisse suffered an awful family tragedy and kept it private to carry on playing – then used the pain to strengthen him as a person and as a manager.
The Lions of Teranga have qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup for just the second time in their history – and face England in the last 16 on Sunday.
In 2002, Cisse was captain as they beat France on their way to the quarter-finals, months after missing the decisive spot-kick in the Africa Cup of Nations final shootout defeat to Cameroon.
Now in the dugout aged 46, he is the most successful manager in the national team’s history.
But when he was 26 and had just signed for Birmingham immediately following his World Cup exploits, he experienced the unbearable loss of 11 family members.
On September 26, 2002, the MV Le Joola ferry was travelling from Ziguinchor in southern Senegal to the capital city of Dakar.
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The government-owned ship was permitted to carry 580 passengers, but more than 1,900 were on board when it set sail.
After encountering high winds and rough seas, MV Le Joola capsised and sunk.
Just 64 people survived as 1,863 lost their lives.
The death toll – made up of people from Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, France, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Lebanon, Switzerland, and the Netherlands – makes it one of the worst non-military maritime disasters ever, with more casualties than the Titanic.
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In the days before social media, Cisse watched on television in his new apartment as reports of the ship’s demise off the Gambian coast first spread.
The following day, the midfielder received a phone call informing him that members of his family were on board – and eventually had it confirmed that 11 had passed away.
That included his sister, aunts, uncles, nephews and cousins.
Cisse said: “The waiting was the hardest part.
“Trying to find someone on the other side who had the right information.
“At one point, people were saying it wasn’t true. They were saying the boat had arrived.
“In those moments, you catch your breath only to be told 30 minutes later, ‘No, no, no, it’s not true, the boat still hasn’t arrived.'”
Cisse kept the heartbreaking news quiet as he continued to train that week and played the full 90 minutes of a 2-1 win away at West Ham.
Former Birmingham chief and SunSport columnist Karren Brady said: “He kept the terrible news to himself for days before the facts emerged.
“Naturally we invited him to take indefinite leave but that wasn’t his way of mourning.
This tragedy is not only personal, it’s collective… we are still thinking about them
Aliou Cisse
“He stayed with us for all but a few days, going about his business with dignity, asking for no favours, showing incredible mental strength.”
Former team-mate Michael Johnson added to The Athletic: “It just seems so surreal that he had lost so many members of his family in this disaster and then, within days, he was back playing for his club.
“I look back at what he did and I think, ‘If that’s how you are as a man and as a player, then my gosh, what kind of attitudes will you bring with your leadership as a manager?’
“So it doesn’t surprise me that he has done so well for Senegal.
“This is a man who has real strength, real leadership, real values.
“What he is doing on the world stage is no surprise because I remember what he brought as a player and how, even in a really bleak time for him, he stood out.”
Cisse did then head home for a couple of weeks to be with his family and play in a charity match for the disaster appeal.
When he returned, Blues fans unfurled a Senegal flag and raised money for the survivors and victims’ families while an official inquiry was launched in his homeland.
Cisse revealed: “I kept it all to myself.
“It was a very complicated and difficult day, but my family needed me to be strong for them.
‘I COULDN’T BE WEAK’
“They needed my presence. I couldn’t be weak.
“As soon as we played the game, I went straight to Dakar to see my family.”
Cisse has naturally been reluctant to speak about the tragedy to the media.
However, he did bravely open up as he contributed to a BBC documentary on the Le Joola catastrophe.
The former PSG and Portsmouth man – who led Senegal to their first Afcon title in February – said: “This tragedy is not only personal, it’s collective.
“You have to remember that there were all layers of Senegalese society on that boat.
“In reality, the whole region was decimated. Everyone in the city of Ziguinchor had one, two or even ten family members left in that shipwreck.
“These are moments that we will never forget. It was a very difficult time.
“We must remember, remember our dead and all those families who were decimated, from the father down to the grandchildren.
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“It’s important to remember them, to pay tribute to them, to know they are not here but we are still thinking about them.
“I think that’s very important. In fact, my main motivation for agreeing to this interview is to say, ‘We are thinking of you.’”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
