The recently finished campaign has been absolutely abysmal for the German team Bochum. After four consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga, the club has been relegated, sitting at the bottom of the table. Last season, they barely got away in the relegation playoffs, sending Fortuna Dusseldorf back to the second tier, despite losing the first leg 3-0. Penalties were on their side. This time, they were doomed.Nevertheless, Bochum’s management has started searching for reinforcements to help the popular Unbreakables instantly return to the top flight. Moreover, the fact that they have already brought eight players – the June Transfer Window began just a month ago – clearly depicts their ambitions.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The last of the eight newcomers was Ibrahim Sissoko – a Malian born in France who joined Bochum as a free agent after spending the previous season at the French side Saint-Etienne.Now, this transfer wouldn’t have been intriguing if Bochum hadn’t already had almost the same player in their ranks.Namely, a year ago, the Germans signed another Malian born in France, who also joined as a free agent after spending the season before at another French side, Strasbourg – Ibrahima Sissoko!🇲🇱 Bochum have announced the signing of Mali international striker Ibrahim Sissoko.He joins Mali international midfielder Ibrahima Sissoko, who was already at the club after joining last summer. pic.twitter.com/CqYqEjurqq— Get German Football News (@GGFN_) June 30, 2025 Apart from this one-letter difference in the two players’ names, it should be pointed out that Ibrahim is a 29-year-old, 1.92-meter-tall striker who made eight appearances for the Mali national team.On the other hand, Ibrahima is a 27-year-old, 1.93-meter-tall midfielder who made three appearances for the Mali national team.What a “game-changing” difference, don’t you think?!##NAJAVA_MECA_9002053##Jokes aside, even though Bochum seem to have established a pattern regarding Malians named Ibrahim(a) Sissoko, the whole case is just an extraordinary coincidence.But if everything pays off and they manage to instantly return to the Bundesliga in the following season, no one can guarantee that their “Malian gang of Sissokos” won’t get new members.
