It has to be ground in him. A few days before his thirtieth birthday, at the beginning of September 2018, Traoré left Zlín for Slavia, where he spent five fruitful years. There he won three titles, four cup triumphs, scored 18 goals in 176 competitive matches, the most memorable of which was the famous one against Sevilla at the end of extra time in the round of 16 of the Europa League. Even thanks to this hit, the honest man from the Ivory Coast will be among the fans of stitched legends for decades to come.
He was already involved in the Vršovice club off the pitch, helping foreign players, becoming a kind of ambassador for the African project. After last season, Traoré could jump into it fully, he had an offer, he no longer figured in the plans of A. But he postponed this job, he wanted to try another season in the league. In the end, a move to Pilsen fell out of several negotiations, given the jealousy between the two clubs, quite spicy. Slavia respected his decision.
On Sunday, Traoré will arrive at a familiar place as an opponent. As a full-fledged member of coach Miroslav Koubek’s staff, he is not a mascot. He played in all twenty-two competitive matches of Victoria in the season, appeared in the starting line-up twelve times, played 1,093 minutes. He scored seven goals (three in the Mariánské Lázní Cup), and collected four assists.
Pilsen does not have Sparta and Slavia, goalkeeper BaierVideo: Sport.cz
“This arrival went well for Pilsen,” says experienced coach Vlastimil Palička. “He has something to give to the team. He has experience that he uses and can pass on at the same time. Coach Koubek is certainly happy to have him in the squad, he increases the competition, he can rely on him. At the same time, I have no doubt that coach Koubek knows how to communicate with the players and explain to them when, for example, they are not in the starting line-up,” reflects the experienced coach who led Jablonec, Zlín, Olomouc or Opava.
Will Traoré play in the starting lineup? Almost everyone can think about it. In any case, emotionally charged battles suited him in Slavia. “He is a player for big games. The harder and more important the match was, Ibra got better and better,” recalls Trpišovský for the club’s website. “He is mentally strong, he can’t make a mistake,” adds expert Palička in a similar vein. Traoré scored goals at Fenerbahce or Feyenoord, for example.
The celebrants are looking forward to the visit of their former partner. “Me personally, we’ve been through a lot. I remember when he came to us. That’s when Honza Sýkora was injured, and we were quickly looking for a midfielder. We got Ibra, which was a surprise for a lot of people at his age. In the end, he spent beautiful years here. I would love to see him again, we will be rivals after a long time. We were already in the second league when I was in Žižkov and he was in Táborsk,” says Trpišovský. But on Sundays, no one gives themselves anything.
2023-11-04 11:13:25
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