Pione Sisto

Pione Sisto Ifolo Emirmija (Danish pronunciation: [pʰiˈoːnə ˈsisto]; born 4 February 1995) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Danish club Midtjylland and the Danish national team.

Pione Sisto
Sisto with Celta in 2018
Personal information
Full name Pione Sisto Ifolo Emirmija
Date of birth (1995-02-04) 4 February 1995
Place of birth Kampala, Uganda
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Midtjylland
Number 7
Youth career
2002–2010 Tjørring
2010–2013 Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Midtjylland 90 (20)
2016–2020 Celta 110 (12)
2020– Midtjylland 12 (5)
National team‡
2015–2016 Denmark U21 6 (4)
2015– Denmark 25 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2020

He began his professional career with Midtjylland of the Danish Superliga, making 113 total appearances and scoring 31 goals over five seasons. In 2016 he transferred to Celta Vigo for a €5 million fee. He made his senior debut for the Denmark national team in 2015, and was part of their squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Kampala, Uganda, to South Sudanese parents,[2] Sisto moved to Denmark at the age of two months. He was spotted by Tjørring IF in 2002, aged seven, and moved to FC Midtjylland’s youth setup in 2010.[3]

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. On 2 March 2014, he scored twice in FC Midtjylland's 5–1 away victory over Copenhagen 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 Copenhagen. Shortly after, he made an assist for the game's first goal followed by scoring the deciding goal, securing a 2–0 win for Midtjylland and their first Danish league title.

Scouts from Barcelona,[4] Milan,[5] and Juventus[4] went to Denmark several times to see the Danish midfielder and Arsenal has also shown interest in the midfielder.[4] According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf Ajax has offered €7 million without success.[6]

He scored for Midtjylland against Manchester United in a 2–1 home win in the Europa League on 18 February 2016.[7] 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.[8]

Celta
Sisto playing for Celta in March 2017

On 31 July 2016, La Liga club Celta de Vigo reached an agreement for the transfer of Sisto,[9] for a fee rumoured to be €5 million.[10] He signed a five-year deal.[11]

He made his debut at the club on 22 August, starting in a 0–1 home loss against CD Leganés.[12] On 25 September he scored for the first time in a 2–0 win at RCD Espanyol, running 80 metres from one penalty area to the other in the final minute.[13] Also in his first season in Galicia, Sisto played 13 games and scored twice as the club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League for the first time. Both of his goals were in either leg of the 4–3 aggregate win over K.R.C. Genk in the quarter-finals in April 2017.[14][15]

In May 2020, Sisto was fined a club record €60,000 by Celta for having driven 3,000 kilometres back to Denmark in March, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

Return to Midtjylland

On 7 September 2020, Midtjylland announced that they had signed Sisto on a four-year contract.[17] The transfer became official after a lengthy dispute, where he almost joined Midtjylland rivals, FC Copenhagen.[18] Commenting on the transfer saga, Sisto stated that "It was my heart. My heart suddenly chose to go to FC Midtjylland. I found that it has always been my wish, but sometimes one gets tested."[19] He also said that he was "a fan of intelligence" and that "there [would] always be pressure when you are Pione," referring to himself in third person.[19] Sisto was assigned the number 7.[18]

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.[20] 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. He was not yet 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.[21]

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.[22] Twelve days later, he was called up to the Denmark national football team for its matches against Montenegro and Serbia.

In June 2015, 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.[23]

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 of the goalless draw before being replaced at halftime by Yussuf Poulsen.[24] He scored his first international goal on 22 March 2018, the only goal of a friendly win over Panama in Copenhagen.[25]

In May 2018 Sisto was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[26] He was also named in the final 23-man team.[27]

Personal life

After the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Sisto proclaimed himself to be "the most hated person in Denmark" on social media, after having received criticism for his performances. His statements were met with surprise among Danish media.[28][29][30]

In May 2019, Sisto confessed on social media that he had been on a 21-day diet consisting of only fruit.[31] He stated that he "lost control" and that the "subsconscious is darkness".[32]

In May 2020, Sisto revealed that he had suffered with bouts of depression which had begun during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[33] He also stated that he had been subject to racial abuse from parents of teammates during his time at the FC Midtjylland Academy in Ikast.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of 21 December 2020[35]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Midtjylland 2012–13 Danish Superliga 10010–110
2013–14 27623–299
2014–15 2280020248
2015–16 29400134428
2016–17 22005476
Total 90203320811331
Celta Vigo 2016–17 La Liga 30361132496
2017–18 34521–366
2018–19 25220–272
2019–20 21222–234
Total 1101212413213518
Midtjylland 2020–21 Danish Superliga 1251080215
Career total 21237167411026954

International
Statistics accurate as of match played 18 November 2020.[36]
Denmark
YearAppsGoals
201520
201620
201760
2018111
201900
202040
Total251

International goals
Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.[37]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 March 2018Brøndby Stadium, Brøndbyvester, Denmark Panama1–01–0Friendly

Honours

Midtjylland

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. "Forslag til Lov om indfødsrets meddelelse" [Proposals to Act on naturalization] (PDF) (in Danish). Danish Parliament. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. "Pione Sisto: the Uganda-born Dane who gunned down Man United and dreams of Barcelona". FourFourTwo. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  4. "Arsenal 'prepare SHOCK transfer bid for goal-scoring Danish midfielder'". 19 May 2015.
  5. "Milan: eyes on Pione Sisto. Juve: Almamy Touré farther".
  6. "Sport - Het laatste nieuws uit Nederland leest u op Telegraaf.nl". Telegraaf. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  7. Dawkes, Phil (18 February 2016). "FC Midtjylland 2-1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  8. Johnston, Neil (25 February 2016). "Manchester United 5-1 FC Midtjylland (agg 6-3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  9. "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. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  10. "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.
  11. Smith, Jamie (1 August 2016). "Pione Sisto joins Celta Vigo". Goal. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. "Estreno de oro del Leganés en Primera" [Golden debut of Leganés in Primera] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  13. "Golazo a la carrera de Sisto... ¡tras conducir 80 metros!" [Amazing running goal by Sisto... after driving 80 metres!]. Marca (in Spanish). 25 September 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  14. "Ryan beaten three times at Celta Vigo but Genk still alive". SBS. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  15. "Genk 1 Celta Vigo 1 (3-4 agg): Berizzo's side into first major semi-final". FourFourTwo. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  16. "Celta's Sisto fined for driving home to Denmark: reports". France 24. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  17. Ambo, Morten (7 September 2020). "FC Midtjylland køber Pione Sisto" (in Danish). FC Midtjylland. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  18. /ritzau/ (7 September 2020). "Så blev det officielt: FC Midtjylland henter Pione Sisto" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio (DR). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  19. Hoffskov, Ole; Okstrøm, Oliver (7 September 2020). "Stort Pione Sisto-interview: Mit hjerte valgte pludselig FC Midtjylland" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  20. "Peter Bonde håber på dansk pas til Pione Sisto". Politiken. 5 August 2014.
  21. "European U21 championship players to watch include Hughes and Sisto". ESPN. 17 June 2015.
  22. "Lykkelig Pione Sisto klar til det danske landshold". Ekstra Bladet. 8 May 2015.
  23. "Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark". UEFA. 17 June 2015.
  24. "Albania refuse to yield to Denmark pressure". UEFA. 4 September 2015.
  25. "Sizzling Sisto gives Denmark win over 10-man Panama in friendly". Reuters. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  26. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced?". Goal. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  27. "Tottenham Playmaker Eriksen Keys Talented Denmark's World Cup Fortunes". Sports Illustrated. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  28. Ryefeldt, Jonas (29 April 2019). "Sisto vækker opsigt: 'Den mest hadede person i Danmark'" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  29. Hoffskov, Ole (22 May 2019). "Sisto har takket nej til Hareides invitation: Håber, han får styr på karrieren" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  30. Skovsgaard Tøfting, Nicolai (23 May 2020). "Sisto ville hjem fra VM: Var helt ude at skide". www.bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  31. Estévez, Antonio (16 May 2019). "Celta Vigo's bizarre week". Marca. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  32. "El céltico Pione Sisto confiesa que "perdió el control" cuando intentaba pasar 21 días comiendo solo fruta" (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  33. /ritzau/ (23 May 2020). "Landsholdsspiller fik en depression: 'Jeg har kæmpet med at være glad de seneste to år'" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  34. Okstrøm, Oliver (24 May 2020). "Pione Sisto blev udsat for racisme fra holdkammeraters forældre" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  35. "Pione Sisto". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  36. Pione Sisto at National-Football-Teams.com
  37. "Sisto, Pione". National Football Teams. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
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