Lassina Traoré

Lassina Traoré
Personal information
Full name Lassina Chamste Soudine Franck Traoré
Date of birth (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Shakhtar Donetsk
Number 2
Youth career
2012–2017 Rahimo
2017–2019 Ajax Cape Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Jong Ajax 42 (23)
2019–2021 Ajax 22 (9)
2021– Shakhtar Donetsk 54 (16)
International career
2017– Burkina Faso 24 (11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2024

Lassina Chamste Soudine Franck Traoré (born 12 January 2001) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk and the Burkina Faso national team.

Club career

[edit]

Rahimo

[edit]

Traoré began his football career in the youth ranks of Rahimo in his hometown of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. He was scouted by Ajax and brought to South Africa, where was stalled at the clubs' satellite club Ajax Cape Town until he was old enough to legally transfer to Amsterdam.[1]

Ajax Cape Town

[edit]

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Traoré moved to Europe joining Ajax in January 2019, on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[1] He had previously played for Rahimo in Burkina Faso and was on the books of Ajax Cape Town in South Africa where he finished as top scorer of the reserves team before departing for the Netherlands.[2]

Ajax

[edit]

Traoré was named on the bench for the first time in Ajax's fateful second leg defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on 8 May 2019, before making his debut in the final seconds of their 4–1 win over Utrecht in the league four days later.[3] He would have to wait over five months for his next first-team appearance as a late substitute in a 4–0 win against Feyenoord on 27 October 2019.[3]

On 24 October 2020, Traoré scored five goals and assisted a further three in a record-breaking 13–0 league victory over VVV-Venlo.[4] Three days later, Traoré earned a penalty-kick and scored his first goal in European competition in a 2–2 draw away to Atalanta in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[5]

Shakhtar Donetsk

[edit]

On 18 June 2021, it was announced that Traoré had joined Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of €10 million.[6] On 22 September, Traoré scored twice in Shakhtar's 3–0 win against rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the 2021 Ukrainian Super Cup.[7]

International career

[edit]

Traoré made his international debut for Burkina Faso on 4 May 2017, during a friendly match against Benin.

Playing style

[edit]

Lassina Traoré is not remarkably tall at 1.83 m, but his muscularity makes him well suited for a physical playing style. As a team player, he is technically competent beyond being a typical ‘target man’.[8]

Personal life

[edit]

Traoré's mother was a former professional footballer and captained the Burkina Faso women's national football team.[3] His cousin, Bertrand Traoré, is also a professional footballer, who plays as a right winger for AFC Ajax.[3]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 10 November 2024[9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2018–19 Eerste Divisie 14 8 0 0 14 8
2019–20 17 13 0 0 17 13
2020–21 11 2 0 0 11 2
Total 42 23 0 0 42 23
Ajax 2018–19 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2019–20 9 2 2 2 1[b] 0 0 0 12 4
2020–21 12 7 0 0 6[c] 1 18 8
Total 22 9 2 2 7 1 0 0 31 12
Shakhtar Donetsk 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League 7 6 6[d] 1 1[e] 2 14 9
2022–23 21 5 10[f] 1 31 6
2023–24 16 4 2 0 2[b] 0 20 4
2024–25 10 1 1 1 3[d] 0 14 2
Total 54 16 3 1 21 2 1 2 79 21
Career total 118 48 5 3 28 3 1 2 152 56
  1. ^ Includes KNVB Cup, Ukrainian Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
  6. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, Four appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

[edit]
As of match played 10 September 2024[10]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Burkina Faso 2017 4 3
2019 4 0
2020 4 2
2021 5 2
2022 0 0
2023 1 0
2024 6 4
Total 24 11
Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Traoré goal.
List of international goals scored by Lassina Traoré[10]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 May 2017 Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso  Benin 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 21 May 2017 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin  Benin 1–1 2–2 Friendly
3 2–1
4 12 November 2020 Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso  Malawi 1–0 3–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5 2–0
6 5 June 2021 Stade National, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Ivory Coast 1–0 1–2 Friendly
7 2 September 2021 Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco  Niger 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 6 June 2024 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Egypt 1–2 1–2 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 10 June 2024 Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali  Sierra Leone 2–0 2–2 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 10 September 2024 Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali  Malawi 1–0 3–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11 2–0

Honours

[edit]

Ajax

Shakhtar Donetsk


Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Okeleji, Oluwashina (15 December 2018). "Lassina Traore: Burkina Faso teenager eyes 'Champions League' with Ajax". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
  2. ^ Hoe Lassina Traoré het schopte van Burkina Faso tot Ajax vice.com
  3. ^ a b c d "Lassina Traore: From 'too fat' to Ajax's long-awaited Kluivert successor". Goal. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Ajax set new Eredivisie win record with 13-goal drubbing of VVV". Goal. 24 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Atalanta 2-2 Ajax". UEFA. 27 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Lassina Traoré voor ongeveer tien miljoen euro van Ajax naar Shakhtar". De Telegraaf. 18 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b "VBET Суперкубок. VBET Supercup". UPL (in Ukrainian). 22 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Wonderkids: Lassina Traoré". Soccerment. 14 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Lassina Traoré". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Lassina Traoré". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Neres' stoppage-time goal seals Dutch Cup win". Ajax website. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Lassina Traor is named Eredivisie Player of the Month". Eredivisie. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
[edit]

Lassina Traoré at Soccerway