Pione Sisto

Pione Sisto
Personal information
Full name Pione Sisto Ifolo Emirmija
Date of birth (1995-02-04) 4 February 1995
Place of birth Kampala, Uganda
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current team
 Celta
Number 11
Youth career
2002–2010 Tjørring
2010–2013 Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Midtjylland 90 (20)
2016– Celta 12 (2)
National team‡
2015– Denmark U21 6 (4)
2015– Denmark 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 November 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 November 2016 (UTC)

Pione Sisto Ifolo Emirmija (born 4 February 1995) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Celta de Vigo.

Club career

Early career

Born in Kampala, Uganda to South Sudanese parents,[1] Sisto moved to Denmark at the age of only two months. He was spotted by Tjørring IF in 2002, aged seven, and moved to FC Midtjylland 's youth setup in 2010.[2]

Midtjylland

Sisto made his league debut during the 2012–13 Danish Superliga season and scored his first professional goal during the same season in the match against AGF Århus. On 2 March 2014, he scored twice in FC Midtjylland's 5–1 away victory over F.C. København in the Danish Superliga.

In December 2014, Sisto was voted "Player of the Year 2014" by the Danish Footballers' Association and "Profile of the Autumn 2014" by the Danish Football Magazine.

After an injury he played his first club match in 2015 in May coming on as a substitute against F.C. København. Shortly after he made an assist for the game's first goal followed by scoring the deciding goal, giving FCM a 2–0 victory to win their first Danish league title.

Scouts from Barcelona, Milan, Juventus and Porto have been to Denmark several times to see the Danish midfielder and Arsenal has also shown interest in the midfielder.[3][4][5] According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf Ajax has offered 7 million euros without success.[6] The player is represented by his agent Jonas Ankersen.[7][8]

He scored for Midtjylland against Manchester United in a 2–1 home win in the Europa League on 18 February 2016.[9] He also scored the opening goal of the second-leg at Old Trafford before Midtjylland went on to lose 5–1 (6–3 on aggregate) to United and bow out of the Europa League.[10]

Celta

On 31 July 2016, La Liga club Celta de Vigo reached an agreement for the transfer of Sisto,[11] for a fee rumoured to be € 5 million.[12] He made his debut in the category on 22 August, starting in a 0–1 home loss against CD Leganés.[13]

International career

Since Sisto was not a Danish citizen, but had lived almost his whole life in Denmark, the Danish national team manager Morten Olsen expressed his hope that the player would be eligible for the national squad.[14] Upon receiving his Danish citizenship in December 2014, Sisto was immediately chosen to represent the Denmark national under-21 football team, although in an unofficial match. Legally, he would not yet be able to represent Denmark in an official international match, due to FIFA regulations. On 23 January 2015, he made his debut for the Danish U21 side, scoring a hat-trick in a 7–1 win against Romanian club FC Dinamo București.[15]

On 8 May 2015, Sisto received official word of FIFA's dispensation decision, allowing him to represent Denmark without waiting the obligatory five years following his 18th birthday.[16]

On 20 May 2015, Sisto was called up to the Denmark national football team for its matches against Montenegro and Serbia.

Sisto debuted for the Danish national football team on 4 September 2015, in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Albania. He played the first 45 minutes, but was replaced at halftime by Yussuf Poulsen. The game ended 0–0.[17]

He represented the Denmark U21 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic, and scored the last goal in a 2–1 victory against the host nation in the opening match at the Eden Arena in Prague.[18]

Personal life

Sisto has lived in Denmark since he was two months old and has Danish citizenship.[19]

Club statistics

As of 26 September 2016[20]
Club Season League Cup International Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Midtjylland 2012–13 1001000110
2013–14 2761000286
2014–15 2280020248
2015–16 29400134428
2016–17 22005476
Total 90202020811228
Celta Vigo 2016–17 61001071
Career Total 96212021810929

References

  1. ↑ "Forslag til Lov om indfødsrets meddelelse" [Proposals to Act on naturalization] (PDF) (in Danish). Danish Parliament. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Pione Sisto: the Uganda-born Dane who gunned down Man United and dreams of Barcelona". FourFourTwo. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Milan: eyes on Pione Sisto. Juve: Almamy Touré farther | English News | Calciomercato.com
  4. ↑ Arsenal prepared to battle with Barcelona and Juventus for Pione Sisto | Football | Premier League Transfer News, Scores, Results & More | Daily Star
  5. ↑ Arsenal transfer news: Gunners 'line up bid for Midtjylland's Pione Sisto' | Metro News
  6. ↑ Ajax wil niet wachten op Sisto|Ajax| Telegraaf.nl
  7. ↑ FCM-guldfuglen kan skrive historie: Så tårnhøj er prisen på Pione Sisto - Superligaen | www.bt.dk
  8. ↑ Euro Under 21 – Attenti a quei 10: ecco chi sono i giovani da tenere d’occhio a partire da domani sera
  9. ↑ "Midtjylland 2-1 Manchester United". Mail Online. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. ↑ Johnston, Neil (25 February 2016). "Manchester United 5-1 FC Midtjylland (agg 6-3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "El internacional danés Pione Sisto enriquece el ataque celeste" [Danish international Pione Sisto bolsters the celeste attack] (in Spanish). Celta de Vigo. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "Pione Sisto, una bala para el Celta" [Pione Sisto, a bullet to Celta] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Estreno de oro del Leganés en Primera" [Golden debut of Leganés in Primera] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Peter Bonde håber på dansk pas til Pione Sisto". Politiken. 5 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "European U21 championship players to watch include Hughes and Sisto". ESPN. 17 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Lykkelig Pione Sisto klar til det danske landshold". Ekstra Bladet. 8 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Albania refuse to yield to Denmark pressure". UEFA. 4 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark". UEFA. 17 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Kristian Jensen on Twitter: "Værsgo Morten Olsen og @DanskBoldspil - og velkommen til Pione Sisto som dansk statsborger! #dkpol #fcm Nu vedtaget. http://t.co/D0JMm8SeR3"
  20. ↑ "Pione Sisto". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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