Sibiri Alain Traoré (born 31 December 1988) is a Burkinabé 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 as a striker for Arta/Solar7, and the Burkina Faso national team. He started his career with local side Planète Champion, before moving to France as a 17-year-old.

Club career

Traoré began his career with Planète Champion in his homeland. He came to prominence whilst playing for Burkina Faso in the

2005 African U-17 Championship The 2005 African U-17 Championship was a football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament took place in Gambia. The top three teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Qualification ...

, with his performances earning him a one-month trial with English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He impressed in his trials, but was not able to sign for them due to work permit issues. He had the option of going on loan to a Belgian club, but also had interest from French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

. With the decision of his mother, he joined the French side instead. On 4 January 2009, he was loaned out to Brest for six months. He returned to Auxerre on 31 June 2009. Traoré became a central figure in the Auxerre team. In July 2012, he joined Ligue 1 side

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

after Auxerre were relegated to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. On 31 January 2015, Traoré moved on loan to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

till the end of the 2014–15 season, with an option for Monaco to make the deal permanent. In July 2018, he joined Moroccan team

RS Berkane Renaissance Sportive de Berkane () commonly referred to as Nahdat Berkane or RS Berkane for short, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Berkane, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football. Founded on 21 May 1938 a ...

on a free transfer and was part of their Confederation Cup participating side. He also scored a goal in their Confederation Cup group stage match against Sudanese team Al-Hilal.

International career

Traoré represented Burkina Faso at under-17 level, where they qualified for the 2005 African U-17 Championship. He scored one goal in the 3–1 defeat to Mali. He also scored one goal in the

2012 African Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CA ...

, versus

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. He scored the goal (in the sixth minute of injury time), which took Burkina Faso through to the

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

at the expense of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

, and then scored three goals in the 2013 final tournament itself. On 4 February 2017, Traoré scored a wonderful free kick against Ghana in the third-place playoff in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. The goal was scored in the 89th minute and went on to win the bronze medal for Burkina Faso.

Personal life

Traoré's younger brother, Bertrand, is a professional footballer. The two were part of the Burkina Faso squad for the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

in Gabon and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Traoré goal.''

Honors

RS Berkane *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

: 2019–20 Burkina Faso *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

bronze:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

Official website of Alain Traoré
(archived 31 May 2012)
Alain Traoré Lorient profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Traore, Alain 1988 births Living people Naturalized citizens of France Burkinabe men's footballers French men's footballers Footballers from Bobo-Dioulasso Men's association football forwards Burkina Faso men's international footballers Burkina Faso men's youth international footballers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Süper Lig players Qatar Stars League players Djibouti Premier League players AJ Auxerre players Stade Brestois 29 players FC Lorient players AS Monaco FC players Kayserispor footballers Al-Markhiya SC players AS Arta/Solar7 players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Burkinabe expatriate men's footballers Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Expatriate men's footballers in Morocco Burkinabe expatriate sportspeople in Djibouti Expatriate men's footballers in Djibouti 21st-century Burkinabe people 21st-century French sportsmen