6 – Aliou Cisse – Midfielder – 26
Cisse captained the side to the quarter-finals and his performances earned him a move from Montpellier to Premier League side Birmingham City. He got off to a truly outstanding start…by being sent off on his début.
He was impressive in his first season but fell out with manager Steve Bruce during the 03-04 pre-season, eventually leaving for Portsmouth for the start of the 2004-05 season. After only three games in his second season, Cisse moved back to France to play for Sedan before moving to Ligue 2 side Nimes, retiring at the end of the 2008-09 season.
After retirement, Cisse moved into coaching. His first job was assistant coach at CS Louhans-Cuiseaux, leaving in January 2012 to take the same role with Senegal.
7 – Henri Camara – Striker – 25
The Guinea-born striker had just finished his first season with Sedan by the time the World Cup arrived, having spent the previous few years in Swiss football. Scoring twice in four World Cup matches and impressing throughout the tournament wasn’t enough to get a move to a bigger club, and he left Sedan when they were relegated in May 2003.
His form got him a move to the Premier League and to newly promoted Wolves in August 2003. He was named the fan’s Player of the Year after scoring seven times in 30 games, but this wasn’t good enough to keep Wolves in the Premier League as they went back down. Henri refused to go back to the club during pre-season, citing a refusal to drop down a level. Camara would be sent on loan in the 2004-05 season, first to Celtic then to Southampton.
Camara eventually got his move away when Wigan signed him for 3 million pounds in August 2005. He stayed at the club until May 2009, only playing 69 times for the club in between loan spells with West Ham and Stoke City. He would then move to Sheffield United at the end of his Wigan contract, but he only stayed at the club for one season before being released in a cost-cutting measure.
In May 2010, he moved to Greek Super League side Atromitos for one year, then signed a two year deal with fellow Greek outfit Panetolikos, scoring 10 goals for Panetolikos this season as they made it into the Greek Football League playoffs.
8 – Amara Traoré – Striker – 36
“Grandpa” was at the end of a long career spent almost entirely in the French league system. The striker never appeared for Senegal in the World Cup, and was selected by coach Bruno Metsu to lend his experience to the younger members of the squad. Amara would retire at the end of the 2002-03 season with Ligue 2 side FC Gueugnon.
Amara would manage Senegal from December 2009 to February 2012, being sacked after he failed to take them to the 2012 African Cup of Nations. In March this year, he became head coach at Guinean side AS Kaloum.
Amara Traore in the dugout. Courtesy of starafrica.com
9 – Souleymane Camara – Striker – 19
The baby of the squad only played once in the World Cup. He spent the early part of his career with Monaco, spending time on loan with Guingamp along the way. He moved to Nice for the start of the 2005/06 season, but like at Monaco, he was mainly a substitute and barely started any games. Souleymane moved to Montpellier on loan at the start of the 2007/08 season, where he scored 11 times in 37 games.
This record earned him a permanent move to the southern French side, where he continued to succeed. He would score the goals that got the club out of Ligue 2 in 2008/09, took them to the Coupe de la Ligue final in 2010/11 and the Ligue 1 title in 2011/12. Last season saw his best return for Montpellier since his original loan spell, scoring 10 goals in 33 league games.
