From refugee to goalscorer, Cissé makes his debut with Atalanta

MILAN (AP) — From refugee to amateur footballer and then Serie A scorer in two years. Moustapha Cissé has been through a lot.

Cissé arrived in Italy as a refugee in 2019 and quickly joined the ASD Rinascita refugee team in Lecce, an amateur club that plays in the Italian eighth division. The 18-year-old forward was part of that team until last month, when Atalanta gave him a professional contract.

On Sunday, he made his Serie A debut by entering as a substitute in the 65th minute against Bologna and scored the only goal of the match, 17 minutes later.

“Apart from his great skill as a footballer, he is an exceptional boy,” said Atalanta's assistant coach Tullio Gritti. “He came to Bergamo and trained with us, he is very courteous, his education is an example even though his life has not been easy”.

“He is still an amazing person, who is willing to learn. He has great skill, today he scored like a champion,” he added.

The goal and the triumph were important for Atalanta, a team that has been more successful than expected under the leadership of coach Gian Piero Gasperini and is looking to qualify again for the Champions League. Atalanta is eight points behind Juventus, the fourth in the table, although with one match less.

Cissé, who arrived in Italy from Guinea after his father's death, had the opportunity to play on Sunday due to a series of injuries to Atalanta's strikers. But scoring has been a constant since he arrived at the ASD Rinascita refugee team, a club made up exclusively of foreigners seeking asylum in Italy.

Cissé was discovered by Atalanta scout and traveled to Bergamo on February 23, after the club made the unusual decision to occupy one of the non-EU player positions allowed by Serie A to players born outside the European Union.

In his debut for Atalanta's youth team, Cissé scored a double in the 3-1 win against Milan. He also scored against Napoli's inferior.

While racking up goals and the first team stacked up injured, Cissé was called up to perform in Serie A at the weekend. The bet was right.

Since Gasperini took office five years ago, Atalanta has been successful with strikers of their inferiors, and Cissé is the most recent to pay dividends.

“It's part of the history of Atalanta. The club has always believed in its academy. It has been that way for five or six years thanks to the president who chose a coach like Gasperini,” said Gritti. “The coach has no problem putting players with quality, bold and a clear mind.”

“People say that there is no young talent in Italy, but we do if you have the courage to play them. And the coach certainly has the courage. Cissé's debut was a great hit by Gasperini, ensuring that the player is there and has talent,” he added.