Djimi Traoré Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Djimi Traoré
Personal information
Date of birth	(1980-03-01) 1 March 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Right to Dream Academy (coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1999	Laval	5	(0)
1999–2006	Liverpool	88	(0)
2001–2002	→ Lens (loan)	19	(0)
2006–2007	Charlton Athletic	11	(0)
2007–2009	Portsmouth	13	(0)
2008	→ Rennes (loan)	15	(0)
2009	→ Birmingham City (loan)	3	(0)
2009–2011	Monaco	36	(0)
2011–2012	Marseille	11	(0)
2013–2014	Seattle Sounders	42	(1)
Total		243	(1)
International career
2004–2006	Mali	6	(1)
Managerial career
2015	Seattle Sounders 2 (assistant)
2016–2021	Seattle Sounders (assistant)
2021–	Right to Dream Academy (coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Djimi Traoré (born March 1, 1980) is a former professional footballer. He now works as a coach for the Right to Dream Academy. Djimi played as a left-back or centre-back defender. He was born in France but played for the Mali national team. During his club career, he played for many teams. These included Laval, Liverpool, Lens, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Rennes, Birmingham City, Monaco, Marseille, and Seattle Sounders. He won many awards with Liverpool, including the famous 2004–05 Champions League.

Playing for Clubs
Coaching Career
Achievements and Awards
See also

Playing for Clubs

Starting at Laval and Liverpool

Djimi Traoré began his football journey at his local club, Laval, in France. After playing there for a few years, he moved to the famous English club, Liverpool. He played his first game for Liverpool on September 14, 1999. It was a League Cup match where Liverpool won 5–1 against Hull City.

In the 2001–02 season, Traoré went on loan to Lens in France. He played 19 games for them. He then returned to Liverpool for the 2002–03 season. This is when he scored his first and only goal for Liverpool. It was in a UEFA Cup game against Steaua București.

Becoming a Champion with Liverpool

During the 2003–04 season, Djimi Traoré played mostly for Liverpool's reserve team. He was even their captain. He almost left Liverpool to join their rivals, Everton, in 2004. However, Liverpool's new manager, Rafael Benítez, convinced him to stay.

Under Benítez, Traoré's playing improved a lot. He became more confident in supporting the left-wing attackers. He also got better at his defensive positions.

In the 2004–05 FA Cup, Traoré accidentally scored an own goal against Burnley. This meant Burnley won the game 1–0. Despite this, he remained an important player for Liverpool.

He was part of the starting team for the 2005 Champions League Final against Milan. In this famous match, Liverpool was losing 3–0 at halftime. But they made an amazing comeback, scoring three goals to make it 3–3. Traoré made a crucial save on the goal line, stopping a shot that could have won the game for Milan. Liverpool then won the match 3–2 in a penalty shootout. This meant Djimi Traoré won a Champions League medal!

In the 2005–06 season, Traoré played less often for Liverpool. Other players like John Arne Riise and Stephen Warnock also played at left-back. He was a substitute when Liverpool won the 2006 FA Cup Final against West Ham United on penalties. This was his last season with Liverpool. He moved to Charlton Athletic in August 2006.

Playing for Other English Clubs

Djimi Traoré's time at Charlton Athletic was short. In his very first game, he was sent off after getting two yellow cards. He played only half a season there before moving to Portsmouth.

In February 2009, Traoré joined Birmingham City on a short loan. He played three games for them before his loan ended.

Moving to French and American Teams

After his loan at Birmingham City, Traoré signed a two-year contract with Monaco in France in June 2009.

In August 2011, he signed a one-year deal with another French club, Marseille. He was a substitute when Marseille won the 2012 Coupe de la Ligue Final. He left the club at the end of that season.

On February 23, 2013, Djimi Traoré joined the MLS club Seattle Sounders in the United States. He scored his first goal for Seattle in an amazing way. It was a powerful shot from 30 yards out that hit the underside of the crossbar and went in! This goal helped Seattle become the first MLS club to beat a Mexican team in the CONCACAF Champions League. He scored his first league goal for Seattle in May 2013, which was a winning goal in the 94th minute against Sporting Kansas City. Traoré stopped playing professional football at the end of the 2014 season.

Coaching Career

After retiring as a player, Djimi Traoré became an assistant coach for the Seattle Sounders. He worked there until August 2021. Since then, he has been a coach for the Right to Dream Academy.