The Spurs midfielder was struggling for his club and not being considered by France last summer but it’s a different story now.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko has opened up on the last 12 months of his career as he bounced back from a tough start in North London and missing out on the France World Cup squad to becoming a key player for club and country (official Spurs website).
The 29-year-old joined Spurs from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016 but his first two seasons at N17 were largely underwhelming and he could hardly have been considered a fan favourite going into the 2018-19 campaign.
Sissoko’s struggles at club level led to him losing his place in the France setup and as such he was not picked by Didier Deschamps to make the plane for Russia, a tournament in which Les Bleus went all the way, with Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris lifting the trophy.
Over the past year, however, the midfielder has gone from strength to strength, his tireless displays in the centre of the park contributing to a Premier League top-four finish and a superb run to the final of the Champions League, not to mention the Lilywhites fanbase growing to love the player.
“Last year, at this time, I was a bit sad not to be part of the World Cup squad,” Sissoko told the official Tottenham website. “I’d played in qualifying and I wanted to be part of the best competition, so yes, not to be in the squad was painful. After that, I said ‘okay, life is like that’, sometimes you want something but you can’t get it, but it’s not the end of the world. You keep going, stay strong and try to give more to have more success.
“In football, you will have disappointments, this is human nature. But you realise even if you are not playing, you have a good life. That’s how I think. I feel I’m strong mentally and if times are hard, I will keep going, keep working and try to get to the other side. This season has been amazing for me. I’ve had the chance to play a lot of games and I’ve played well.”
Some Spurs fans took to Twitter to show their love for Sissoko:
As stated on the Spurs website, Sissoko made 44 appearances in all competitions in 2018-19, starting 37 of their last 48 matches stretching back to October, and made 27 starts in the Premier League compared to eight in his first season and 15 in 2017-18.
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