 Cissé began his career in his home country, but moved to the Netherlands in 2004 under the advice of fellow international Arouna Koné, who was playing for Roda at the time.Following the departure of Koné to Eindhoven in 2005, Cissé had a larger role in the Roda team and was noted for his speed.In 2006, it was reported that Louis van Gaal, coach of fellow Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, was interested in signing him, as part of an exchange deal with Adil Ramzi.