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Lacina Traoré
Lacina Traoré.jpg
Traoré with CSKA Moscow in 2016
Personal information
Full name Lacina Emeghara Traoré
Date of birth (1990-05-20) 20 May 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height 1.98 m
Playing position 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)
National team
2011 Ivory Coast U23 5 (3)
2012–2015 Ivory Coast 13 (4)
Honours
Representing  Ivory Coast
Men's football
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2015 Equatorial Guinea
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Lacina Emeghara Traoré (born May 20, 1990) is a former professional footballer from Ivory Coast. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal-scorer. People called him "The Big Tree" because he is very tall, standing at 1.98 meters (about 6 feet 6 inches). This makes him one of the tallest football players ever!

Club Career

Early Career

Lacina Traoré grew up in Abidjan, a city in Ivory Coast. He started playing football at a special school called ASEC Mimosas. In 2006, he joined another club, Stade d'Abidjan. He played there until January 2008. Then, he moved to Europe to play for a Romanian club called CFR Cluj.

Playing for CFR Cluj

Traoré started his European football journey with CFR. He scored his first goal in a big European game against Copenhagen. He also scored against Sparta Prague.

In the next season, Traoré became a regular player for CFR Cluj. He scored his first league goal of the season on August 13, 2010. He also scored two goals in one game against Gloria Bistrița. In the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, he scored against Basel and Roma.

Moving to Kuban Krasnodar

In February 2011, Traoré moved to Russia to play for Kuban Krasnodar. The club paid about €6 million for him. He played his first game on March 13, 2011.

On April 2, 2011, Traoré scored his first goal for Kuban Krasnodar. He said he scored it for the fans. He even scored two goals in one game against Amkar Perm. Fans voted him player of the month several times. In his first season, he played 39 games and scored 18 goals. People even compared him to another great Ivorian striker, Seydou Doumbia.

Joining Anzhi Makhachkala

On June 29, 2012, Traoré signed with Anzhi. The transfer fee was around €18 million. He was excited to help the club succeed.

He scored his first goal for Anzhi against his old team, Kuban Krasnodar. Anzhi also played in a European competition called the Europa League. Traoré scored against AZ and even against famous English club Liverpool. In his first season at Anzhi, he scored 17 goals in 38 games. A Russian newspaper called him Anzhi's best player that season.

In his second season, he started well by scoring against Lokomotiv Moscow. However, the club had financial problems. Anzhi decided to sell many of its players, including Traoré. He also had some injuries during this time.

Time at Monaco

On January 4, 2014, Traoré signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ligue 1 team Monaco in France. The transfer cost around $14 million.

Loan to Everton

After joining Monaco, Traoré was loaned to English club Everton on January 24, 2014. He scored his first goal for Everton in his very first game. It was an FA Cup match against Swansea City. Sadly, he got a hamstring injury soon after. This injury kept him out for most of the season. He only played one league game.

Back at Monaco

After his loan at Everton, Traoré returned to Monaco. The new manager, Leonardo Jardim, gave him a chance. But he got another hamstring injury, which made him miss the start of the season. His manager still believed in him. Traoré finally played for Monaco on October 17, 2014. He scored his first goal for Monaco on November 9.

On January 3, 2016, Traoré had an amazing game in the Coupe de France. He scored four goals for Monaco in a 10–2 win! He was even sent off (given a red card) at half-time, but still managed to score so many goals.

Loan to CSKA Moscow

On July 13, 2016, Traoré went back to Russia. He joined CSKA Moscow on loan for the 2016–17 season.

Loan to Sporting Gijón

On January 31, 2017, he moved to Spain. He signed a loan deal with Sporting Gijón until the end of the season. He made his debut in La Liga on February 5, 2017. He scored a goal in his first game for them, even though his team lost.

Loan to Amiens

On August 31, 2017, Traoré joined another French club, Amiens SC, on a season-long loan.

Later Career

In February 2019, Traoré moved to Hungary to play for Újpest FC. Later that year, on August 15, 2019, he returned to his old club, CFR Cluj, in Romania. He also played for Bandırmaspor in Turkey and Varzim in Portugal.

International Career

Lacina Traoré also played for his country, Ivory Coast.

Playing for Ivory Coast U23

Traoré helped the Ivory Coast Under-23 team in their journey to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He scored a goal against Liberia U23. He also scored against Gabon in the main tournament.

Playing for the Senior Team

Traoré was chosen to play for the main Ivory Coast national team in the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. He played in two games during this tournament. He played for 68 minutes against Tunisia. He also played for 7 minutes against Nigeria in the quarter-finals. Ivory Coast lost that game and was out of the tournament.

He was considered for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. However, the national team manager decided not to include him in the final team.

Personal Life

Lacina Traoré is a Muslim. He comes from a big family, with 16 brothers! Two of his brothers also became footballers. One brother, Messa, played in Romania. Another brother, Lajo Ménéné, also started his European career at CFR Cluj, just like Lacina.

Achievements

Lacina Traoré has won several important titles with his clubs and country.

Club

CFR Cluj

International

Ivory Coast

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lacina Traoré para niños

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