Adama Traoré (; born 3 February 1990) is an Ivorian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for

A-League Men A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as ...

club

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Club career

First steps

Born in

Bondoukou Bondoukou (var. Bonduku, Bontuku) is a city in northeastern Ivory Coast, 420 km northeast of Abidjan. It is the seat of both Zanzan District and Gontougo Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Bondoukou Departme ...

, Ivory Coast, Traoré began his career in his native

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

, where he played for Ecole de Football Yéo Martial. Traoré later signed a three-year contract with former

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club

Gold Coast United Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian Association football, soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first ...

, after impressing in trial matches. Gold Coast United invited him for a trial after having watched highlights of his performances at the

2007 Toulon Tournament The 2007 Toulon Tournament was the 35th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 31 May to 9 June. It was won by France national football team, France, after they beat China national under-23 football team, China 3–1 in the final. Res ...

. In 2010, Traore stated the move to the former A-League club Gold Coast United was a stepping stone in his ambitions of playing club football internationally. Due to Gold Coast United having its A-League license revoked, he had to leave the club.

Melbourne Victory

On 15 March 2012, it was announced that Traore had signed a two-year contract with A-League club

. Traore made his debut for the Victory in their Round 1 clash with cross-town rivals

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...

, an encounter which the Victory lost 2–1. On 9 March 2013, Traore suffered a high grade, high ankle ligament rupture which sidelined him for the rest of the 2012–13 season. After Clive Palmer's club collapsed Adama Traore signed with Melbourne Victory – and stated his desire to play for Australia's national team. In May 2014, Traoré's contract with Melbourne expired after declining renewals in hopes of pursuit a career in Europe. The most prestigious award given to a Melbourne Victory player, the Victory Medal, was awarded to Adama Traore at the end of season awards ceremony on 10 May 2014.

Vitória de Guimarães

On 14 June 2014, it was announced that Portuguese club

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

had signed Traoré on a multi-year deal.

Basel

But after spending just six months in Portugal, Traoré joined

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

on 10 January 2015 signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. Traore joined Basel's first team for their 2014–15 season under head coach

Paulo Sousa Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli. Starting his career ...

. After playing in two test games Traore played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the

Stadion Wankdorf Wankdorf Stadium () is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it is the home ground of BSC Young Boys. It was also one of the venues for UEFA Euro 2008. History The present-da ...

, in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, on 22 February 2015 as Basel were defeated 2–4 by Young Boys. The season 2014–15 was a very successful one for Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row that season and in the

2014–15 Swiss Cup The 2014–15 Swiss Cup was the 90th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition started on 23 August 2014 with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 7 June 2015 with the Final, won by Sion. As winners of the compet ...

they reached the final, but finished as runners-up, losing 3–0 to

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

and reached the

knockout phase A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. But Basel then lost to Porto in the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. In the second half of the season Basel played 31 matches (18 Swiss League fixtures, 3 Swiss Cup, 2 Champions League and 8 test matches). Traoré totaled 17 appearances, 12 League, 2 Cup and 3 in test games. In the club's 2015–16 season Urs Fischer was appointed as new head coach. Traore scored his first goal for his club in the home game in the

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

on 1 August 2015. It was the second goal of the game as Basel won 3–0 against Sion. Under trainer Fischer Traoré won the league championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season and at the end of the 2016–17 Super League season for the third time. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total. They also won the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

for the twelfth time, which meant they had won the double for the sixth time in the club's history. Traoré left the club in August 2017. Between the years 2014 and 2017 he played a total of 95 games for Basel scoring a total of three goals. 59 of these games were in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, seven in the

, ten in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 19 were friendly games. He scored one goal in the domestic league, one in the cup and the other was scored during the test games.

Göztepe

Traoré joined Göztepe on 14 August 2017. In October 2018 he damaged knee ligaments and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Melbourne Victory

On 12 September 2019, Traoré rejoined Melbourne Victory on a one-year contract. He was released on 11 June 2021.

International career

Traoré has had spells with the Ivory Coast U-17, Ivory Coast U-19, and Ivory Coast U-20, playing a total of seven games for his

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, scoring only one goal. He has played two games in the

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

-organised

2007 African Youth Championship The African Youth Championship 2007 was held in the Republic of the Congo. It also served as qualification for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Qualification Preliminary round Cape Verde, Swaziland and Uganda withdrew. As a result, Senegal, Mozamb ...

(versus Congo and The Gambia) which doubled as a qualifier for the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

. During the same year, Traoré also participated in the

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

and the

UEMOA Tournament The UEMOA Tournament is a football (soccer) tournament held between nations who are a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). The tournament was first played in 2007 2007 was designated as the International Helioph ...

. After arriving in Australia, Traoré stated that he would like to play for the Socceroos. However it later became clear that this was impossible as he had represented Ivory Coast at youth level. Under the regulations of FIFA, a player's national allegiance cannot change after they have represented their country of origin at national youth level unless the player held dual nationality upon their original call-up. Traoré has also previously been selected for the senior national team to play against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. However, having not yet played a game he has not received a full international cap, he turned down the opportunity to play this game as he had the ambition to play for the Socceroos. Traore was called up by Ivory Coast for the first time on 7 November 2014 for their matches against

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

but did not play. He was again called up for the match on 6 September 2015 against Sierra Leone in the

Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on the north end of the city in the Omagwa neighbourhood. The stadium is named after Adokiye Amiesimaka, a former player with Nigeria's national football team who was am ...

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

(

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

) for an Africa Cup of Nations qualification game. Traoré made his national team debut in the starting eleven but was substituted out after he injured himself. The match ended in a goalless draw. A possibly unique situation occurred in a match in February 2022 in which Traoré played for an Australian invitational XI against a touring

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

side. Traoré scored for the Australian side, and his namesake Adama Traoré scored for Barcelona.

Personal life

Growing up in Ivory Coast, Traoré said football was his passion and wanted to play the sport, even finishing school. In March 2014, Traoré became an Australian

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

after staying in the country for five years. He stated that: "Australia has felt like home ever since my first few years in the Gold Coast."

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Basel *

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

: 2016–17; runner up: 2014–15 Ivory Coast *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Individual * Melbourne Victory Player of the Season: 2013–14 * A-Leagues All Star:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

Profile on the Swiss Football League homepageMelbourne Victory profile
(archived 20 May 2012) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Traore, Adama Living people 1990 births People from Bondoukou Sportspeople from Zanzan District Men's association football fullbacks Ivorian men's footballers Ivory Coast men's international footballers Australian men's soccer players Australian people of Ivorian descent Sportspeople of Ivorian descent ASEC Mimosas players Gold Coast United FC players Melbourne Victory FC players Vitória S.C. players FC Basel players Göztepe S.K. footballers Western Sydney Wanderers FC players A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars Primeira Liga players Swiss Super League players Süper Lig players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Ivorian expatriate men's footballers 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Ivorian emigrants to Australia Naturalised soccer players of Australia 21st-century Australian sportsmen 21st-century Ivorian sportsmen