Lacina Traoré facts for kids
Traoré with CSKA Moscow in 2016
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lacina Emeghara Traoré | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 May 1990 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | ASEC Mimosas | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Stade d'Abidjan | 47 | (18) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | CFR Cluj | 44 | (14) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Kuban Krasnodar | 38 | (18) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 29 | (13) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Monaco | 25 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Everton (loan) | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | → Monaco II | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | → CSKA Moscow (loan) | 14 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 8 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Amiens (loan) | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | Újpest | 9 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | CFR Cluj | 11 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Bandırmaspor | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | Varzim | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 264 | (80) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Ivory Coast U23 | 5 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Ivory Coast | 13 | (4) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Lacina Emeghara Traoré (born on May 20, 1990) is a former professional footballer from Ivory Coast. He played as a forward, which means he was usually at the front of the team, trying to score goals. People called him "The Big Tree" because he is very tall, standing at 1.98 meters (about 6 feet 6 inches). This made him one of the tallest professional footballers.
Lacina Traoré's Football Journey
Starting His Career in Africa
Lacina Traoré grew up in Abidjan, a city in Ivory Coast. He started learning football at a special school called ASEC Mimosas. Later, in 2006, he joined a club called Stade d'Abidjan. He played there until January 2008. Then, he moved to Europe to play for a Romanian club, CFR Cluj.
Playing for CFR Cluj in Europe
Traoré quickly made his mark in Europe. He scored a goal in his very first European match for CFR. This was during the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage against Copenhagen. He scored another goal against Sparta Prague.
In the next season, Traoré became a regular player for CFR Cluj. He scored his first league goal of that season in August 2010. He also scored two goals in one game for the first time in his career against Gloria Bistrița. In the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, Traoré scored against Basel and Roma.
Moving to Russia: Kuban Krasnodar
In February 2011, Traoré moved to Russia. He joined Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League. He made his first appearance for them in March 2011. On April 2, 2011, he scored his first goal for the club. He also helped his teammate Vladislav Kulik score in a 3–1 win.
Traoré scored two goals in one game again, this time against Amkar Perm. He was voted player of the month by his club several times. In his first season with Kuban Krasnodar, Traoré played 39 games and scored 18 goals. People even compared him to another great Ivorian striker, Seydou Doumbia.
Playing for Anzhi Makhachkala
On June 29, 2012, Traoré signed with Anzhi. He was given the number 19 shirt. He hoped to help the club become very successful.
Traoré scored his first goal for Anzhi against his old club, Kuban Krasnodar. He also scored in Anzhi's first European game in nine years against AZ. He scored again in the second game, helping his team move forward. He even scored the winning goal against famous English club Liverpool in a Europa League game. In his first season at Anzhi, Traoré scored 17 goals in 38 games. A Russian newspaper called him the best player at Anzhi that season.
In his second season, Traoré started well by scoring against Lokomotiv Moscow. However, the club faced financial problems. This led Anzhi to sell many of their players, including Traoré. He also had some injuries during this time.
Time at Monaco and Loans
On January 4, 2014, Traoré signed a contract with Ligue 1 team Monaco in France.
Loan to Everton
Soon after joining Monaco, Traoré went on loan to Everton in England. He joined them in January 2014. He scored his first goal for Everton in his very first game. This was in an FA Cup match against Swansea City. Sadly, he got a hamstring injury soon after. This kept him out for most of the season. He only played one league game for Everton.
Back to Monaco
After his loan, Traoré returned to Monaco. He got a chance to play for the first team under the new manager. But he got another hamstring injury, which made him miss the first nine games of the season. When he recovered, he made his Monaco debut in October 2014. He scored his first goal for Monaco in November, in a game against Saint-Étienne.
In January 2016, Traoré had an amazing game in the Coupe de France. He scored four goals in a 10–2 win for Monaco, even though he was sent off at halftime!
Loan to CSKA Moscow
In July 2016, Traoré went back to Russia on loan. He joined CSKA Moscow for the 2016–17 season.
Loan to Sporting Gijón
In January 2017, he moved to Spain on loan to Sporting Gijón. He made his debut in La Liga (the top Spanish league) in February 2017. He scored a goal in his first game for them, even though his team lost.
Loan to Amiens
In August 2017, Traoré joined another French club, Amiens SC, on a loan deal for the season.
Later Career
In February 2019, Traoré moved to Hungary to play for Újpest FC. Then, in August 2019, he returned to his former club, CFR Cluj, in Romania after eight years. He also played for Bandırmaspor in Turkey and Varzim in Portugal before ending his professional career.
Playing for His Country
Lacina Traoré also played for the Ivory Coast national team.
Under-23 Team
Traoré helped the Ivory Coast Under-23 team qualify for the 2011 CAF U-23 Championship. He scored against Liberia U23. He also scored a goal in the main tournament against Gabon. This tournament was important because it helped teams qualify for the Summer Olympics football tournament.
Africa Cup of Nations
Traoré was part of the Ivory Coast squad for the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. He played in two games during the tournament. The Ivory Coast team was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Nigeria.
He was initially considered for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad but was not chosen for the final team. However, he was part of the Ivory Coast team that won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Personal Life
Lacina Traoré is a Muslim. He has 16 brothers! Two of his brothers, Messa and Lajo Ménéné, also became footballers. Lajo Ménéné even started his European career at CFR Cluj, just like Lacina.
Honours
Club Achievements
CFR Cluj
- Liga I (Romanian League): 2009–10, 2019–20
- Cupa României (Romanian Cup): 2008–09, 2009–10
- Supercupa României (Romanian Supercup): 2009, 2010
International Achievements
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2015
See also
In Spanish: Lacina Traoré para niños
