Player Profile

The much-travelled, tattooed striker took a gamble last year by joining Panathinaikos but it paid off handsomely as he helped them win the Greek title, ended the season as top scorer and earned a recall by France.

The 28-year-old will be playing in his second World Cup - he played in three games in 2002, but missed out in 2006 after breaking his leg just before the tournament.

Cisse, who is of Ivorian descent, made his name with Auxerre before joining Liverpool for a then club record fee of £14m in 2004. His form at Anfield was hit-and-miss and although he picked up Champions League and FA Cup winners’ medals, he was allowed to move to Marseille on loan, eventually joining them for £6m.

The return home did not work out and he was unable to hold down a regular first-team spot, so he returned to England for a loan spell with Sunderland, for whom he scored 10 goals in 35 league games, a good enough return to persuade Panathinaikos to part with around £6.5m for his services. .