Mustapha Cissé decided Bologna-Atalanta with a clinical finish, keeping his team’s Champions League hopes alive. With Duvan Zapata, Josip Ilicic, Jeremie Boga, and Aleksey Miranchuk all absent, Gian Piero Gasperini inserted him for the gassed Luis Muriel, and the move worked out wonders.
It took the 18-year-old just 15 minutes to score in his Serie A debut. Cissé joined Atalanta very recently. They acquired him from Rinascita Refugees, an amateur team in Copertino, near Lecce, in late February, Goal.com informs. He has bagged three goals in four appearances in Primavera. He drew the attention of the first side’s boss, who needed a forward considering the multiple absences.
The youngster reached Italy from Guinea in 2019. He started to play football in 2021 with the small outfit that is part of the state projects to help integrate asylum seekers. He was highly prolific in his previous club, but was in one of the lowest divisions in the Italian football pyramid.
Atalanta caught wind and unusually used one of their extra-EU spots to sign Cissé, SportMediaset reports. He adjusted to his surroundings quickly, and La Dea’s prolific youth system might have unheated another gem. Top assistant Tullio Gritti weighed in after the win: “He has been practicing with us for a while. Still, he probably would not have been called up if we had our regular strikers. This proves that negative situations can produce something good if you have the right amount of courage. It was a stroke of genius by the Gasperini.”