Moustapha Cisse scored on his Serie A debut for Atalanta, just weeks after leaving an amateur club for refugees. ‘It seemed impossible,’ he confessed.
The 18-year-old came off the bench with the score still level against Bologna and found the net with the winner.
It was particularly extraordinary, considering he only signed for the Atalanta youth academy in February, having previously played for a club set up to help refugees in the eighth tier of Italian football.
“I dedicated the goal to my Mum, as she told me to make this gesture for her,” Cisse told the official Atalanta YouTube Channel.
“I used to watch Atalanta on TV in Lecce. Their 2020 season was impressive, it was the moment I got to know Atalanta.
“Then they came to play against Lecce, I went to see them. When I was told that an Atalanta director had come to see me, I thought they were kidding. My friends and I used to play football just to have fun in the summer.
“I was invited for a test in Bergamo and now I’m here with Atalanta. I don’t have words to describe it!”
Amid an injury crisis, Gian Piero Gasperini called up Cisse for the senior squad and after sitting on the bench against Genoa, he was thrown into the mix with Bologna.
“I thought I would have come on for only two or five minutes on my Serie A debut, but the coach told me to warm up just 10 minutes into the second half. I told myself, it’s impossible.
“I put all the emotions aside to make the most of this opportunity and gave it everything I had. I scored in Serie A, but I know this is only the beginning and I need to keep working hard.”
Un sogno diventato realtà 🌟
A dream come true 🤩🎥 Watch the full interview 👉 https://t.co/zvP09Nzpf4#Cisse #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/HsMC70B4Tz
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) March 26, 2022