On the night of June 20 at The Alchemist in Westlands, DJ Tcheba was all vibey as he took on the decks for his first-ever performance in Kenya. Blending Afro House with Afrobeats, the former football star delivered an energetic set that easily got the approval of the crowd.
A glance at the 44-year-old working the turntables with confidence, passion, and precision was enough to tell that he had perhaps found a new calling. No doubt this was a man enjoying his life more since hanging up his boots in 2017, forced by injury. He was 35, but now at 44, the past doesn't seem to haunt. In this new space of entertainment, former France and Liverpool striker Djibril Cissé has reinvented himself, adopting the stage name DJ Tcheba.
“I’m surprised by Kenya, in a good way. It's my first time here, and I like it. It’s a cool country. I actually thought it would be a bit hotter,” he chuckles. His stage name ‘Tcheba’ means ‘strong man’.
He owes this nickname to his mother and aunt, and it is engraved on his skin.
“I have great strength of character. I rarely, if ever, give up. I have had two major injuries that could have ended my career. I know players who stopped for less,” he says.
Something you pick from listening to Cisse is that he does not worry much about life. For someone who has lived several lives in one, perhaps that's just the right way to approach life. Cissé has a surprisingly relaxed outlook on life. He has never lost sleep over what could have been.
“I don't know what I would have been had I not found football because I wasn’t great at school. I am not the kind of person who thinks about different scenarios of what could have been. I wasn't great at school, but luckily, I had an amazing career in football, and that kind of balanced everything. That's just how life works sometimes,” he says.
It is the kind of reasoning that tells you almost everything about him. Cissé doesn't dwell on missed opportunities. He simply follows the next adventure. That attitude has carried him from football stadiums to DJ booths, television studios, fashion runways and coaching grounds. Yet perhaps the biggest surprise is that for a man who spends many nights performing in clubs around the world, Cissé has never touched alcohol. “I have never taken alcohol in my life. I don't know what alcohol is. I made that decision when I started playing football, and I've stayed on that path,” he says.
“I still have fun. I enjoy the music, I am a DJ, and I drink my water. The other day, I tried that Kenyan drink, Jaba Juice and ended up sleeping a little. It kept me awake for so long that I had to go to the gym at 2 a.m. to shake it off. I didn't know I would stay awake that long because I go to sleep very early. The only explanation I have has to do with that juice,” he laughs. Although many now think of him as a DJ and often that as a retirement pivot, Cissé quickly points out that becoming a DJ wasn’t really a career transition.
Djibril Cissé.
Photo credit: Pool
“It has always been my whole life. To those who know me, it’s completely normal,” he says. In truth, music has been part of his life far longer than football. Cissé started DJing at 14, three years before signing on as a professional footballer.
“Since retiring, I simply have more freedom to do the things I love, and DJing just occurred naturally. Now I can play at festivals and clubs, which is why I'm here in Kenya.”
DJ sets, though, are only a slice of the picture. While he appreciates the decks as one of his income streams, it's only a small fraction of the “many things” he says he does to make money since retiring. Cissé is also three years into a coaching career, working with strikers at French Ligue 1 side Auxerre, a commitment he says takes up significantly more of his time than the nightclub and festival gigs.
“DJing is not the only thing that I do. It’s just a small fraction of everything else I do. I’ve been coaching for three years now. I coach the strikers at Auxerre, and that takes up much more of my time than DJing,” he explains.
His musical taste is deeply rooted in his Ivorian heritage. His father, Mangue Cissé, was an Ivorian international who played for The Elephants in the 1960s and 70s, and that connection still shapes the music he plays today.
“I love Ivorian music, and music in general. My country plays a huge part in what I play. We have Coupé-Décalé, Zouglou and techno. There’s a lot of fusion, and I think we’re very good at it.”
Away from football and music, Cissé has built yet another successful career in front of the camera. He also works as a pundit on the French sports network L'Equipe. And then perhaps least surprisingly for a man who has always dressed like a statement, there's the modelling, which is more lucrative than DJing.
“I work as a TV pundit on L'Equipe, and I also do modelling from time to time,” he says. His striking looks and fearless fashion sense have made him a regular on some of Europe's biggest stages. He has walked the runway during Paris Fashion Week for legendary designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and the fashion label Y-3. He has fronted campaigns for Adidas and even helped turn German supermarket chain Lidl's clothing collection into an unlikely fashion sensation - a collection that, against all odds, went viral and became genuinely cool.
One of his most memorable runway moments came in 2020 during Jean-Paul Gaultier's farewell show, when Cissé dramatically removed his blazer on the catwalk, revealing the elaborate tattoos covering his body to a cheering audience. The flamboyance that once raised eyebrows during his football career has become one of his biggest trademarks, and Cisse loves every bit of it. Throughout his playing days, the tattoos, the weird haircuts, the outfits, and the lifestyle drew plenty of raised eyebrows.
“I honestly like being flamboyant. Many times, people have misunderstood me. I don't do things to please people. I just like being myself and doing the things that make me happy.”
During the 2011 Greek Awards, while he was still actively playing, Cissé went viral for wearing a long, fashion-forward skirt on the red carpet. Then, a striker at Queens Park Rangers, Cisse left many questions about his fashion taste with the Givenchy Whisky Mist outfit. The entire ensemble cost £1000 (Sh142,000 as per the exchange rate at the time), with the skirt alone costing £860 (Sh122,000).
“It wasn’t really a question for me. If I like it, I wear it; if you don't like it, then don't look at me. It is that simple. It might have been perceived as a fashion statement to other people at the time, but for me, I just felt I needed to try out a skirt outfit. However, I have to admit I did try very many crazy outfits, including hairstyles, at the time, but that’s just who I am. You have to take me for who I am or not because I am not one to change to fit in,” he says.
Those were days long before such trends became an everyday trend, and Cisse made a habit of making headlines for wearing skirts and kilts at award ceremonies. Cisse says he now sees younger professional footballers continuing what he started, pushing the fashion trend to extremes, something he is happy about. He likes seeing footballers express themselves through fashion in the manner they wish.
“In our days, it was unheard of when you did all that I was doing outside the pitch. These days, it's normal for players to be in music, fashion, or be in a movie, and nobody will question their commitment to football. Had I not been able to deliver on the pitch, I guess they wouldn't be as free today. I was heavily criticised by the media. I know I was deeply misunderstood because if I were playing now and doing those things, it would be seen as okay. But I think I did well never to have listened to the critics, developed the culture, and at the end of the day I think many l people liked it.”
He maintains that his weird hairstyle became part of his identity. To this day, his hair is dyed blond.
“I think my hair being blond all the time is more important than what I am actually wearing. Blond hair became my identity.”
For the self-assured trendsetter, who has more than two million followers on Instagram, as far as his footballing history is concerned, that night of 2005 when Liverpool faced AC Milan in Istanbul, Turkey, for the Champions League final, remains the best and most memorable highlight of his career, that so him play for 13 different clubs professionally.
Having sustained a near-career-ending injury just seven months earlier, Cisse's appearance in the 2005 Champions League final was nothing short of remarkable. Cisse had returned a month before the final, and managed to score twice as Liverpool signed off in the 2004/05 season with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
“That final remains the most special moment in my football career. After the injury, many had written me off. But I managed to fight for my life and came back, played for a month before that final,” he recalls.
In that final played in Istanbul, Liverpool recovered from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the title, Cisse scoring the winning penalty, which helped secure a 3-2 shootout victory after the match had finished in a 3-3 draw.
“Before I took the penalty, two AC Milan players had missed theirs, and my penalty was the decider. I wasn't panicking, wondering if I was going to miss it. I mean, what's worse could happen even if I were to miss it? I mean, just six months earlier, I was on crutches, and everybody was saying I would never be able to play football again.
Even if I was lucky too, perhaps amateur football, but here I was in front of 80,000 people with a deciding penalty. That moment is what makes it the most memorable and special moment of my football career because I scored and we won the Champions League.”
The horrific double fracture injury to his left leg happened during a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers on October 30, 200.
Cisse’s boot got caught in the turf while challenging defender Jay McEveley for the ball, causing the bone to snap and displace, severely restricting blood circulation to his foot. Quick action by the medical staff to reduce the fracture prevented permanent damage, but Cissé was initially ruled out for the season. Despite the severe setback, he made a remarkable recovery and returned to the pitch just five months later.
For now, that remains a beautiful history. Football made him famous. Music now keeps him inspired, and fashion lets him express himself, while coaching gives him purpose.
