Author Topic: Djimi Traore  (Read 15243 times)

Offline Roady

  • Streety's long lost brother. AKA the Shit Buhunt.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 8,409
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #40 on: March 13, 2013, 01:03:37 pm »
what a strike that was!!! Love the fella.
Giant sponges. That is the answer for flooding.

Offline Davidbowie

  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,936
  • The Thin White Duke
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #41 on: March 13, 2013, 01:06:30 pm »
In my eyes, still technically the worst footballer I have ever seen play for LFC, but it was a great strike.
FAME makes a man take things over

Online CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,462
  • YNWA
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #42 on: March 13, 2013, 01:08:47 pm »
Still got a bad first touch though I see  ;D

Offline El Lobo

  • Chief Suck Up. Feel his breath on your face. Toxic, pathetic, arse-faced, weaselling slimeball. RAWK Maths Genius 2022.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 54,990
  • Pretty, pretty, pretty pretty good
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #43 on: March 13, 2013, 01:10:05 pm »
In my eyes, still technically the worst footballer I have ever seen play for LFC, but it was a great strike.

Not even close. His technique, defensively anyway, was actually quite good. It just took too long to get what he wanted to do from his brain to his feet.
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Offline stoa

  • way. Daydream. Quite partial to a good plonking.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 16,361
  • Five+One Times, Baby...
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #44 on: March 13, 2013, 01:12:43 pm »
What Igor Biscan is to a lot of people, Djimi Traoré is for me. I never understood the stick he got. Not a very good footballer, but was still a major contributor to our CL-winning-run in 2005... ;)

Offline Davidbowie

  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,936
  • The Thin White Duke
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #45 on: March 13, 2013, 01:17:02 pm »
Not even close. His technique, defensively anyway, was actually quite good. It just took too long to get what he wanted to do from his brain to his feet.

If you need reminding on exactly HOW shit this guy was, watch this video. The mistakes are laughably bad. League one standard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAjSFStLIiw
FAME makes a man take things over

Offline Nut/ella

  • do!
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,261
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #46 on: March 13, 2013, 01:24:21 pm »
Djimi and Igor. average players for our club but so much love for them. Some players just leave that mark.

hell of a strike btw.

Offline Gods_Left_Boot

  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 6,245
  • We all Live in a Red and White Kop
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #47 on: March 13, 2013, 01:32:18 pm »
If you need reminding on exactly HOW shit this guy was, watch this video. The mistakes are laughably bad. League one standard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAjSFStLIiw

Hell of a strike on the goal.
I know we got booted out of the Cup cause of that, but the Burnley Shake gets me every time...
September 12, 2012:Truth today, justice tomorrow.

Oliver Kay ‏@OliverKayTimes
Those who've campaigned for the truth on Hillsborough were once a suppressed minority. Now the minority are those left clinging to the lies.

My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer the bloody world.

Offline thegoodfella

  • makes reindeer pizza
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 16,414
  • ...siempre es posible
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #48 on: March 13, 2013, 01:32:26 pm »
If you need reminding on exactly HOW shit this guy was, watch this video. The mistakes are laughably bad. League one standard.


Don't care mate, he wrote his name in the folklore and he will be always be adored for it.

Offline El Lobo

  • Chief Suck Up. Feel his breath on your face. Toxic, pathetic, arse-faced, weaselling slimeball. RAWK Maths Genius 2022.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 54,990
  • Pretty, pretty, pretty pretty good
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #49 on: March 13, 2013, 01:42:25 pm »
 ;D

I'm not saying he wasn't quite often below the level we expected, I just don't think its fair to call him technically the worst ever LFC player. He had quite a few good games for us too, lets not forget that. Plus he was eventually important, very important, in Istanbul.
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Offline Samie

  • The next Pharaoh of Egypt. The Ev of drafting! Rumoured to be the 7th, we may need that old magic back! The Timekeeper, ask him what time the action starts.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 65,937
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #50 on: March 13, 2013, 01:44:02 pm »

Offline Nebnotsew

  • Kopite
  • *****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #51 on: March 13, 2013, 03:53:43 pm »
Decent strike. Prefer the Burnley goal myself, thats real skill.
Quote from: Rafael Benitez
I was born Spanish, I am no longer as thin (the anxiety doesn’t help), and yes, sometimes I help serving the dinner.

Online oojason

  • The Official RAWK Audio Visual God. Founder Member of the Ricky Gervais' 'David Brad Fan Club'.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 23,520
  • The Awkward Squad
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #52 on: December 1, 2014, 01:25:39 am »
Djimi Traoré will probably always be defined by a high and low at Liverpool


http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/30/liverpool-mls-djimi-traore-retire-seattle-sounders-champions-league


You suspect as an increasingly valedictory-feeling interview goes on that Djimi Traoré is holding something back and then, 20 minutes in, comes a reluctant truth. “I think I’m going to retire soon,” says the former Liverpool defender, who now hopes that his Seattle Sounders side can progress to their first MLS Cup final when they play LA Galaxy on Sunday. Think, or know? “Yeah, I am. We’re talking about the next few weeks.”

It does not come as a surprise because the conversation has been dotted with rather final, summative statements and has quickly come to be a retrospective of a career that Traoré, now 34, is quite happy to defend.

He is, in turn, a figure of fun and a Champions League winner; scorer of an own goal that will probably follow him to the grave and the man whose second-half clearance from Andriy Shevchenko in Istanbul was one of several moments that allowed Liverpool to cross the thickest of margins. If his presence on that seismic night nine and a half years ago verges on pub-quiz-question material, Traoré is unapologetic about any of his accomplishments during a seven-year spell that, if you catch an Anfield regular on the right day, is recalled with a mixture of exasperation and fondness.

“I’m not ashamed of anything I did about at Liverpool,” Traoré says. “It was hard for me – when I went there I was 19, coming from a small club in France [Laval] to one of the best in England. When I look back I’m very proud of what I achieved.

“When you look at the foreign players who came to Liverpool around that time I played more games than most of them. I know I was not the best but I certainly tried my hardest and I’m very proud because in winning the Champions League I achieved something that few people have.”

Traoré made 141 appearances for Liverpool and it seems a trick of the light that he was 26 when he finally departed for Charlton. Sparingly used by Gérard Houllier, save for a run at centre-back in 2002-03, he found favour under Rafael Benítez during the Spaniard’s first season at Anfield and, by then used as an imposing but sometimes awkward left-back, became a required part of the set-up without really feeling as if he was a long-term option. Fame arrived in Istanbul but it had already knocked four months previously when Traoré, playing in an FA Cup tie at Burnley, won the game for Liverpool’s opponents with an implausible pirouette and drag-back into his own net that has kept compilation makers in hot dinners ever since.

“Maybe some people only think about that goal when they think of me, but there were players next to me who scored many more – it’s not like I scored six or seven. I think I showed my character after that: a lot of players can be dragged down after that kind of incident but I kept my confidence and it paid off. I was always strong in my mind and had a belief in my ability and that’s why I stayed so long at Liverpool. Both managers I worked for knew what they would get from me.”

The reference to multiple offenders brings Jamie Carragher’s name foremost to mind but Traoré was never to reach his team-mate’s heights and the move to Charlton, at the start of 2006-07, felt necessary. A red card against West Ham on his debut was not the brightest of starts – he would also concede a penalty against Liverpool in December – but he had joined a club that would rattle through Iain Dowie, Les Reed and Alan Pardew in a confused relegation season and he was never in favour with the latter.

“I needed to move on and find a new challenge,” he says. “Charlton were a good club but it was tough; I was injured for two or three months during the season and then the new manager came in and it was clear that things were not going well but I don’t regret that move, or any of the clubs I played for. They gave me the experience and knowledge that I am able to use now.”

Portsmouth gave Traoré his next opportunity but this was time spent on the fringes, too and he played no part in the 2007-08 FA Cup-winning run, later being loaned to Rennes and Birmingham. He was moved on in 2009, avoiding direct complicity with Pompey’s fall from grace but finding himself attuned to the warning signs.

“What happened there was a pity. The fan base was great but the facilities were not the best in the league. I think they raised their ambitions too high, with the wages they paid and the players they brought in, but it was fun, always enjoyable to train there every day and guys like Sylvain Distin, Sol Campbell and Benjani were good to play with. And I’d never met a manager like Harry Redknapp before.”

The numbers that have are dwindling but that was it for Traoré in England and next came two years at Monaco, with what seemed like a revival being cut short by a cruciate injury, and another season at Marseille. He rarely returns, although he will be present at Liverpool’s 10-year celebration of the Champions League win in May. Traoré appreciates that the club “made me what I am today”. The player of the present has probably kicked the last ball of his career now, with an adductor injury having dogged his 2014 season after a successful first year in Major League Soccer, but he has found his Indian summer across the Atlantic to be a source of fascination and, it has turned out, a new life. A green card awaits – as, it is hinted, might be some form of backroom role at Seattle.

“This was exactly what I had been looking for after a long career in Europe but I never thought I would stay here,” he says. “I fell in love with the city and the club and my family did too. I didn’t know a lot about it at first – I watched videos on YouTube before coming over – but as soon as I arrived I knew I was at a special place and that I was very lucky. The atmosphere in the stadium is similar to England and I have loved every minute here.”

They have enjoyed him as well – a remarkable long-range goal in the Concacaf Champions League against Tigres on his home debut expediting his settling-in process and giving the showreel some balance. Even if 300 career appearances seems a modest return for a seasoned professional, Seattle has proved the ideal vantage point from which to look back in satisfaction.

“I’ve been fortunate with the clubs I have played for and it shows that there is something about my qualities,” he says. “It has not just been luck. My attitude has always been the same and I think people have seen that.

“I could never have imagined that I would have any of this. I grew up in a suburb of Paris, not from a rich family at all, and I think I can be very proud of what I have achieved – and it’s not finished. I will do something where I can help players in the way that so many people helped me when I was young.”

As justifications of a long and chequered career go, it has been spirited. They may not spend the evening merrily counting up the own goals among them when Traoré finally reunites with Liverpool’s class of 05 in six months’ time, but it is clear he should not feel out of place.



Love this goal of his...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ObZVcMYxWXQ?fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ObZVcMYxWXQ?fs=1</a>
.
Some 'Useful Info' for following the football + TV, Streams, Highlights & Replays etc - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769

A mini-index of RAWK's 'Liverpool Audio / Video Thread' content over the years; & more - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769.msg17787576#msg17787576

Offline _00_deathscar

  • Has a quite operational deflecsor shield.....
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,885
  • You'll Never Walk Alone
    • The Suite Life by Chinmoy Lad
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #53 on: December 1, 2014, 09:48:59 am »
He's an honest chap who worked hard. He was limited, but he tried his best, and that's all you can ask for.
All things luxury travel. Be inspired for your next trip: https://www.thesuitelife.com.hk

Offline dosx

  • Kopite
  • *****
  • Posts: 936
  • This is Anfield
    • LFC
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #54 on: January 12, 2017, 09:22:08 am »
Work as assistant coach at Seattle Sounders http://www.soundersfc.com/team/coaches/djimi-traore
🔥97🔥

Offline Keith Lard

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 6,284
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #55 on: October 24, 2017, 02:22:21 am »
The legend:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/684MwUNEhps" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/684MwUNEhps</a>
Pour yourself a drink and enjoy watching a genius in red - John Barnes || https://youtu.be/XEJfzUSH4e4

Offline BobPaisley3

  • SirAlexFerguson2, the bad manc twat :)
  • Lead Matchday Commentator
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 14,928
  • PGMOL fanboy
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #56 on: March 21, 2019, 10:19:57 am »
I was watching the Istanbul highlights last night and had forgotten his clearance off the line. What a man. Sod whatever else he did at Burnley in the FA cup or skidding around dangerously in various penalty boxes, he gave us that clearance.
94 Corner to us. Last kick. Ali in the box and he’s scored

Offline Redband

  • Anny Roader
  • ****
  • Posts: 374
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #57 on: March 23, 2019, 01:49:35 am »
Istanbul 2005, the day when Traore turned himself into Franco Baresi.

Traore 1, Cantona 0

Online ScouserAtHeart

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,367
  • Pissing Manc "fans" off since 1999.
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #58 on: October 22, 2021, 08:35:28 am »
Djimi Traoré: ‘I’m not ashamed of my own goal – it is part of my story’

The former Liverpool defender reflects on his time at the club and how he could return one day – as Steven Gerrard’s assistant

In the company of certain people it’s impossible to avoid certain topics and Djimi Traoré probably knew what was coming before this interview even started. We were principally meeting, via Zoom, to discuss his coaching career, which has interestingly taken him from Seattle to Scandinavia, but inevitably there was a need to address the elephant in the room. Or to be precise, the own goal versus Burnley.

It is a moment that has gone down in football blunders folklore and, to a large extent, defined Traoré’s time as a player, an 18-year period that saw him represent 10 clubs in three countries, feature for Mali and win a number of trophies, notably the Champions League with Liverpool. It is a distinguished CV, yet ask people, Liverpool supporters especially, to assess Traoré and most are likely to speak of a defender as clumsy as he was limited, with much of that linked to what he did at Turf Moor in January 2005, attempting to clear a Richard Chaplow cross with a Cruyff-like turn that went so badly the ball ended up dribbling off his left instep and into an empty net.

“It was my fault. I take responsibility for it,” Traoré says of the goal that saw Burnley, then of the Championship, dump Liverpool, in their first season under Rafael Benítez, out of the FA Cup in the third round. “I was trying to turn with the ball but it bounced on the wrong part of the field, hit my achilles and went in. A big mistake and Rafa thought the same – that is why he subbed me [14 minutes later]. He also told me I had been too relaxed in the game and the own goal was my punishment for that. I agreed with him.

“The following day I was in the locker room at Melwood [Liverpool’s then training ground] and Jamie Carragher came and sat next to me. He could tell I was not in a good place. We had a long discussion during which he said: ‘Djimi, that’s nothing, I once scored two own goals in one game, and it was against Manchester United. So don’t worry.’ That meant a lot and allowed me to move on.”

It is to Traoré’s credit that he is able to talk about such a low point with such honesty and grace, yet there is clear frustration with how it has characterised his career. He accepts he “wasn’t the most talented player” but the idea that he was an accident waiting to happen stings, especially in the context of his time at Liverpool. He signed in February 1999 as an 18-year-old from Laval and made 141 appearances in seven years under two managers: Benítez and the man who brought him to England, Gérard Houllier.

“Before I joined Liverpool I had only played five games as a professional and that was in the second division in France,” says Traoré. “Liverpool was my learning process and it was a high level, so it was not easy. Also I mainly played left-back but left-back was not my position; centre-back was. And when I played centre-back it was on the right because I was mainly next to Sami Hyypia and Sami didn’t like playing on the right. For a left-footed player that is also not easy.

“Overall I did my best and always fought to stay in the team. And in the end I played a lot of games for Liverpool, more games than a lot of players the club signed for big money.”

And there was no bigger game than the one that took place four months after the defeat to Burnley – Istanbul. The story of that night has been told countless times and there was arguably no more dramatic personal story than Traoré’s: he committed the foul on Kaká that led to Milan’s opening goal, made a goalline clearance from Andriy Shevchenko’s shot after Liverpool had got the score back to 3-3 and, in between, didn’t know if he was coming or going.

“With Rafa it was two ways; if he called me ‘Djimi’ I knew I was in his good books and if he called me ‘Traoré’ I knew I was in trouble – at half-time he said ‘Traoré’, so I knew I was done.

“I took off my kit and got into the shower, but I just stood there thinking about my performance because it had been poor and I felt as if I’d let down my teammates. And then maybe 20 seconds later Rafa’s assistant, Pako [Ayestarán], came and said: ‘Djimi, you’re in again’ – Steve Finnan was injured so he was coming off instead. I got out of the shower and refocused. This was a second chance for me to do well in a massive game and fortunately that is what happened with the clearance. It was redemption.”

Traoré was also part of the Liverpool squad that won the FA Cup the following season and ultimately that was that for him. He joined Charlton in August 2006 and after stints at Portsmouth, Rennes, Birmingham, Monaco and Marseille, moved to Seattle Sounders in 2013. One successful year in Major League Soccer later Traoré, who grew up in Paris and played for France Under-19s before committing to Mali, moved into coaching, becoming an assistant at Sounders and helping them win MLS Cups in 2016 and 2019.

That has led to the 41-year-old becoming head coach of the international academy at Right to Dream, founded in Ghana 20 years ago by Manchester United’s former Africa head scout Tom Vernon with the aim of providing youngsters with access to football training and educational opportunities. Right to Dream has produced more than 20 Ghana internationals and grown to the extent that it was able to buy the Danish club FC Nordsjælland, creating a second base there and a pathway for its best recruits to enter European football. At one stage Nordsjælland had nine Ghanaians in their first-team squad, including the midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who secured a move to Ajax last July.

A third Right to Dream academy is due to open in Egypt next year and Traoré’s brief is to coordinate the entire operation, with an emphasis on ensuring Nordsjælland, where the former Chelsea and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien is a coach, remains a place of opportunity and excellence for young talent, European as well as African. Among Right to Dream’s graduates are the Denmark internationals Michael Damsgaard and Mathias Jensen.

“The most important thing for me as a coach is working with young players, so this job fits perfectly with my personality,” says Traoré, speaking shortly after overseeing an under-19s training session at Nordsjælland’s base in Farum in eastern Denmark. “This is also why I’m not ashamed of the own goal [against Burnley]; it is the story of my career – some highs, some lows – and in the job I have now I can use it to help young players get over obstacles they have in their careers. I can say to them: ‘You can score an own goal and then a few months later win the Champions League.’”

With time has come a change in how most Liverpool fans feel about Traoré; exasperation replaced with genuine affection. And it is heartening to hear that despite the criticism and mockery – the Kop had a song for Traoré to the tune of Blame it on the Boogie by the Jackson 5 that ended with the line: “He just can’t control his feet” – the feeling is mutual. “When you play for the Reds you are a Red forever,” Traoré says with a smile.


The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.
Would Traoré one day like to return to Liverpool as a coach? Maybe even as manager? “I’m realistic about what I want to do,” he replies, “and if I want to become a manager it would be in the MLS because I did a good job there so I know I would get an opportunity.

“I will also not think about being Liverpool manager because that is for Steven Gerrard. It is his destiny and I hope when [Jürgen] Klopp retires the club gives the job to Steven. He’s doing a fantastic job at Rangers and shown his character and desire to improve as a coach.”

Maybe Traoré could become Gerrard’s assistant at Liverpool? “You never know,” he says with another smile. “You never know.”

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/22/djimi-traore-im-not-ashamed-of-my-own-goal-it-is-part-of-my-story
"Jürgen Klopp is bringing Liverpool's 'fuck you' back. And I can't wait."

Offline AlphaDelta

  • Creepy, geeky, recidivist hose-spotter, checking out the size of your engine as we speak......
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 4,372
  • People's Republic of Liverpool
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #59 on: October 22, 2021, 09:07:09 am »
^^^^
Good read that, I never minded Djimi, he ended up as a bit of a cult hero in the end, especially given his antics in Istanbul.
"I ask that you believe in this team and believe that together we can achieve great things."

Online Dim Glas

  • Die Nullfünfer.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 39,206
  • Michael Sheen is the actual Prince of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #60 on: October 22, 2021, 12:47:53 pm »
Nice interview, apart from the last bit as to how somehow it’s Gerrard’s god given right to be Liverpool manager!

Such a likeable character, the stick he got was a bit grating at times too, as it always ends up being what a player is remembered for, when it shouldn’t be, especially in the case of a player who played in one of the most monumental and special games in the clubs history.

Good for Carragher too, that’s what you love to hear - a more experienced player helping out a young team mate after such a bad moment.

Online disgraced cake

  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 10,553
  • Seis Veces
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #61 on: October 22, 2021, 03:29:06 pm »
I was watching the Istanbul highlights last night and had forgotten his clearance off the line. What a man. Sod whatever else he did at Burnley in the FA cup or skidding around dangerously in various penalty boxes, he gave us that clearance.

Bumping this after that article above
Proud follower of the city's junior, and far more successful footballing side

Rome 1977
London 1978
Paris 1981
Rome 1984
Istanbul 2005
Madrid 2019

19 League Titles, 6 European Cups, 3 UEFA Cups, 8 FA Cups, 10 League Cups, 4 European Super Cups, World Champions 2019. We live the dream.

Offline El Lobo

  • Chief Suck Up. Feel his breath on your face. Toxic, pathetic, arse-faced, weaselling slimeball. RAWK Maths Genius 2022.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 54,990
  • Pretty, pretty, pretty pretty good
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #62 on: October 22, 2021, 03:32:53 pm »
I’ll always remember him for Istanbul rather than an OG in a throwaway cup game. But we had to let him go in the end. He was rubbish….he was rubbish.
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Online afc tukrish

  • How long for them sausages? Maggie May's Mythical Turkish Delight. RAWK's Expert Sausage Monster! Oakley Cannonier is fucking boss. Likes blowing his friends and undoing their nuts? Who nose?!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 16,766
  • This looks like a nice spot...
    • Flat Back Four
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #63 on: October 22, 2021, 03:45:59 pm »
I’ll always remember him for Istanbul rather than an OG in a throwaway cup game. But we had to let him go in the end. He was rubbish….he was rubbish.

Rafa was godfather to Djimi's son...
Since haste quite Schorsch, but Liverpool are genuine fight pigs...

Offline stoa

  • way. Daydream. Quite partial to a good plonking.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 16,361
  • Five+One Times, Baby...
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #64 on: October 27, 2021, 09:42:18 am »
I always liked Djimi and it kind of baffled me how Biscan became a cult-hero and Djimi was always more or less laughed at for that own-goal, because football quality wise I'm not sure there's much difference between them. It is great that he got to be part of Istanbul and contributed something to our win as well after a horrendous first half (not only by him, but the whole team).


€dit: Just saw that only a few posts above I've posted more or less the same thing, but 8 years ago... ;D
« Last Edit: October 27, 2021, 09:48:57 am by stoa »

Offline El Lobo

  • Chief Suck Up. Feel his breath on your face. Toxic, pathetic, arse-faced, weaselling slimeball. RAWK Maths Genius 2022.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 54,990
  • Pretty, pretty, pretty pretty good
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #65 on: October 27, 2021, 09:50:30 am »
I always liked Djimi and it kind of baffled me how Biscan became a cult-hero and Djimi was always more or less laughed at for that own-goal, because football quality wise I'm not sure there's much difference between them. It is great that he got to be part of Istanbul and contributed something to our win as well after a horrendous first half (not only by him, but the whole team).

I think maybe because Biscan was properly rubbish but then briefly became okay, whereas Djimi was always pretty rubbish. Biscans was a proper heroic rise, from the depths of being alongside Kvarme, Ferri, Kozma and Torben Piechnik to the heights of being no worse than Kromkamp, Darren Potter and Damien Plessis.
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Offline Eeyore

  • "I have no problem whatsoever stating that FSG have done a good job.".Mo Money, Mo Problems to invent. Number 1 is Carragher. Number 2 is Carragher. Number 3 is Carragher. Number 4 is Carragher. Likes to play God in his spare time.
  • Campaigns
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 31,580
  • JFT 97
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #66 on: October 28, 2021, 12:26:19 am »
Lightening quick, loved a slide tackle but hopeless on the ball. They broke the mould when they made Djimi.

Fortunately Crystal Palace found the mould repaired it, created Wan Bissaka and then sold him to United for £50m.
"Ohhh-kayyy"

Offline scatman

  • Slutty enough to make Jordan blush - and hard enough to piss in the wrong bush! Missing a shift key.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 18,087
  • This is my world, you just WORK here :D
    • directions to football stadiums
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #67 on: October 28, 2021, 12:48:53 am »
Yeah but Igor Biscan dominated Valeron on his turf.
Would sacrifice Fordy in a sacred Mayan ritual to have him as the next Liverpool manager
Football stadiums in England

Offline On Axis

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,227
  • We all Live in a Red and White Kop
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #68 on: May 14, 2023, 01:52:05 pm »
There's an article in The Athletic about Traore's coaching journey so far, with a bit of reminiscing about his time at Liverpool. https://theathletic.com/4492239/2023/05/14/djimi-traore-coach-manager/

Djimi Traore on his move into coaching: ‘I’m still learning to be a leader’
By Sarah Shephard
May 13, 2023
11
Save Article
There is one dressing-room conversation that Djimi Traore will never forget.

It was January 19 2005 and the former Liverpool defender was sitting alone in the changing room at the training ground, his head awash with negative thoughts.

The previous night, Traore had scored an own goal that Liverpool fans will never forget. It came during an FA Cup third round tie against then-Championship side Burnley at Turf Moor — a game that remained goalless until the 51st minute. That was the moment when, seeing a cross played across the face of goal, Traore went to meet it at the back post. Instead of booting the ball clear, he attempted a crafty turn that went comically wrong and gave the home side what proved to be the winning goal.

He was substituted by manager Rafa Benitez 15 minutes later.

When the team trudged into the dressing room at the final whistle, Traore braced himself. But despite the team’s disappointment there were no fingers pointed his way. Even so, the weight of what he’d done felt heavy on the young defender’s shoulders.

“The one who helped me a lot to cope with that situation was Jamie Carragher,” Traore tells The Athletic. “The next day I was in the locker room and you know when you sit by yourself… different things went through my head and he just came and sat next to me and said, ‘It’s all right man, that’s nothing. I did worse than you.’

“He told me he’d scored two own goals at home against Manchester United (in 1999) and that as a defender you will score some own goals — that’s part of your career. But now it’s about how you react in the next game because people will put pressure on you and you need to respond.

“Those few words helped me to cope with it.”


Traore and the ball end up in the back of the net at Burnley (Photo: Getty)
They also showed him just how important a role senior players and leaders have in the dressing room. Some eight years later he found himself in that position after signing for Seattle Sounders in MLS, and realised how much joy he took in sharing the knowledge he’d gained during a playing career that saw him represent 10 clubs in three countries, play internationally for Mali and win numerous trophies, including the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool.

“When I was a player, I was very focused on myself — on my journey as a player,” says Traore, “but towards the end of my career when I was at Seattle, I was given more responsibility in the team. I was in the captain groups and my voice counted because of my own experience. That’s when I felt like I could give back and use my knowledge.”

That’s also when he decided that his future lay in coaching.

When The Athletic speaks to Traore via Zoom, he is preparing for a day at FC Nordsjaelland’s training ground where he is head coach at the Right to Dream international academy. Started in 1999 by Tom Vernon, who had been Manchester United’s head scout in Africa, Right to Dream (RTD) was once a single academy housing a handful of boys in Accra, Ghana. It now has academies in Ghana, Egypt and Denmark (where Traore has been based since 2021), and has been instrumental in developing the careers of players such as Mohammed Kudus, who moved from FC Nordsjaelland to Ajax in 2020 in a deal worth over €9 million — one of the highest ever transfer fees ever paid for a player from the Danish league, and a record-breaking fee for a Ghanaian teenager.

When Right to Dream acquired Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjaelland in 2015, it marked the first time a European club had been purchased by an African not-for-profit business. It means RTD recruits from across Africa and Europe have a pathway to European football. Indeed, 66 per cent of the current registered Superliga squad are Right to Dream Community graduates.

For Traore, the move to Denmark was a no-brainer, partly because it presented an opportunity to return to Europe after eight years in the USA, but mostly because of the RTD ethos. “I signed straight away, because it was something that talked to me, and I saw the big picture,” he says. “We share the same kind of values about playing young players and giving the opportunity to the player or student on and off the field to become a better person.”

His passion for working with young players stems from both the personal and professional areas of his life. Growing up in the suburbs of Paris as one of 10 siblings (Traore is the fourth eldest, with two older brothers and one older sister), he was part of a close-knit family where looking out for those younger than yourself was part of daily life. “We helped each other. We were kind of a team. So the oldest always help the youngest. That’s the way I grew up.”

When he moved to England as an 18-year-old in 1999, he was thankful to find a similar ethos at his new home, Liverpool — a club that proved quite a step up from second division French side Laval, where he’d started his professional career.

“It was a very challenging environment,” he says of his early time in England. “I was in a comfort zone in France — that’s where I was born, where I always had friends or family around. And then I arrived in England, straight away in a big club with a big tradition.

“I knew a little bit (about) Liverpool (before signing for them), but I didn’t know how big a club it was worldwide. After maybe a few days in the club, that’s when I found out: yes, I’m somewhere that’s a top-class club with massive tradition.”


A young Traore (right) playing against Arsenal in August 2000 (Photo: Getty)
With limited English, Traore found those early weeks and months difficult but was helped by the presence of ex-players (“legend players”) who were working in the club and would always make time to sit and talk to him. “I also had some very good team-mates, and some French-speaking team-mates who came to the club and helped me. All the players, more or less, helped me and that’s why I feel like now I can be good in that role. I feel like if I can give one or two or three per cent to any player, that’s a positive.”

When Traore reflects on his experiences playing in England (he also played for Charlton and Portsmouth after leaving Liverpool in 2006), he can see how that time has helped to shape the coach he has become.

“I see it in so many things. At Liverpool, my coach was French (Gerard Houllier was in charge for the first five years Traore was there), so I knew the tradition and the ways French coaches manage. It was nothing new, really, in terms of the way we play.

“But it was more about how you manage big players. That was something new for me.”

Traore arrived into a dressing room featuring Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Paul Ince, as well as rising stars Steven Gerrard and Carragher.

“I saw how he was managing the players, taking care of the oldest ones and making sure everyone was on the same page — driving towards the same objective. He knew how to manage a locker room with a lot of strong characters, how to deal with big egos and that helped him when he arrived in Liverpool because it was not an easy task for him. There were lots of players that he didn’t recruit and he needed to buy because he came with some new ideas.

“We all know, Gerard never played football at a high level, but he won respect in different ways. And that means yes, you can be a top manager without playing at a high level. For me, it’s more about your knowledge of football, and how you deliver your message and, with his communication, I think he was one of the best.”

By the time Houllier departed in 2004, making way for Rafa Benitez, Traore was on the brink of leaving Liverpool after making just seven league appearances during the 2003-04 season. But Benitez swiftly changed his mind.

“He had meetings with everyone when he arrived. For me, I was just going into his office to stay two minutes. To shake his hand, say ‘Hi’, and ‘I’m leaving’. In the end I think I was one of the players who he spent the longest with.”


Traore was impressed by Benitez’s knowledge of his game and career (Photo: Getty)
Benitez allowed Traore to speak first, and then proceeded to use his favoured tactics board to explain how Liverpool were going to play under him and how he saw Traore fitting into that plan.

The defender gave a wry nod. “Yes, the previous coach did the same things and it didn’t happen.”

But Benitez gave his word. He talked about how Traore played in a Champions League game against Valencia in 2002 and about his performances for the France youth national team (at senior level he represented Mali, where his parents are from).

“He is someone who has a massive database about any players and he came up with so many crazy things about me from when I used to play in the youth. I couldn’t believe it.

“I think I played my best football under him because he gave me a lot of confidence. He gave me the big picture about what he thought about me and after that it was only on me to perform in training and in the games to win the spot — and that’s what happened.”

From Benitez, Traore learned about the art of being prepared. The Spaniard’s English was not as good as (former English teacher) Houllier’s, but his attention to detail was unmatched.

“When we went into games, we knew more or less everything about the opposition. Every small detail about the players, the coach… Sometimes, we felt like we didn’t need that much information, especially if we felt like we were better than the opposition, but with Rafa it doesn’t matter the opposition, he always came up with the same details. That was his strength. Yes, he had his weaknesses too, but that’s part of any coach.”

The pair still keep in touch, with Traore able to tap into the Benitez brain on all things coaching. He is now eight years into his journey, which started with Seattle’s “second team” in 2015. Initially the club wanted him to move straight from playing into working with the first team, but Traore refused. He’d only just retired and felt it would be too challenging to move into a coaching role with players who he’d been team-mates with just months earlier. Team-mates whose wives and families he knew. “We can cut players, we can trade players. I didn’t want to be involved in that, because I know how painful it is for the family.”


Traore first joined Seattle Sounders as a player in 2013 (Photo: Getty)
Traore only spent a year working with the second team, but it was a hugely valuable 12 months for his coaching career.

“We had only a head coach, me as assistant coach on a daily basis and one physio. No goalkeeper coach, or admin people. So I was doing everything. When we went on the road, I was doing the flight tickets for the boys, checking into the hotel, taking the equipment, carrying the bags, making sure everyone had their things. I learned so much about what is needed off the field.

“I’m not saying I had a big career, but if you have a decent career and win trophies, sometimes people think we have a big head and don’t want to do those kinds of small things. But for me, it was part of my journey as a coach to learn: what’s the work of my equipment guy? How hard it is it for him? The admins, the guys who need to book the hotel, you need to supply tickets. I learned everything. And I enjoyed it.”

He’s seen some of his former team-mates and contemporaries move swiftly into high-profile management positions but is comfortable with the route he has chosen. “I have an idea about what I want to be,” he says, “but for me, it’s not a sprint. The journey of the coach is very hard, especially today, to find a club at a high level. To arrive there, I think it’s better to be prepared. And the only way to prepare yourself is to be on the field, be engaged and be there on a daily basis with the players, and staff to make all the mistakes you need to make.

“At the youth level, you can learn so much about the players but also about yourself, about the way you want to play, the philosophy and you can make the mistakes, because if you make the mistake there, you will learn from it. Then, when you’re under a spotlight on a bigger stage, you’re ready.

“So many ex-players get the opportunity to get the big job straight away. But it’s totally different because today, it’s only about results. And if you don’t get the results, you don’t have the time. And if you don’t have the time, I think it is hard to be successful.”

Traore is clear that the learning process is ongoing for him. His greatest challenge in that process? Expanding his vision from the player who mainly thought about himself, to the coach who thinks about everybody else. “For me, that was the big challenge: to take care of everyone and care about everyone.

“I’m still learning to be a leader. It’s not only the players, it’s the people around you: your coaching staff, people who work in the club. I work for a big organisation, Right to Dream and FC Nordsjaelland, so I need to navigate… I don’t know how many people. I need to know names, what they do in the club or organisation, and try to interact and be connected with them. It’s something I learn every day, but I’m a social person, so I think it’s easy for me to talk to people.”


Traore takes notes on the sidelines during a match between LAFC and the Seattle Sounders in 2021 (Photo: Getty)
There’s a very relaxed air about Traore. “It’s a facade,” he smiles. So is there anything his players do that’s guaranteed to furrow his brow?

“Of course,” he says. “We play a team sport and sometimes some players can go more like an individual. I’m not happy about that and I try to always make sure everyone understands. I know everyone has his own career, everyone has his own pathway, but when we are on the field, we need to help each other. I always put the team first and the individual after.

“When you have that kind of base and structure, that’s when you can improve as a team, and as an individual as well. And it’s part of our value as an organisation.”

It’s been 24 years since he arrived at Liverpool as a teenager with little English but big dreams driving him. He was never, he admits, the most talented player “even in the academy” but what set him apart was his mentality, his desire to become a professional, to play at the big clubs and to try to win trophies. His challenge now is perhaps an even bigger one.

“Everything I’ve done in football so far, I think I was lucky, you know, because I know where I come from. And I’ll never ever forget where I come from. That’s something that has helped me to be where I am and keeps pushing me.

“Even today, we can talk about a lot of things in terms of coaching. But the reality is, it’s not easy to be a head coach — especially when you come from the minority. And you don’t see that many examples out there to say, ‘Oh yes, I want to be like him’, because it’s not easy.

“It’s always a challenge. But I love a challenge. That’s why I want to push myself and try to be the best version possible. But for me, it’s all about players: if I make my players improve — even by 1 per cent — I will be the best coach, in my head.”

Online Hazell

  • Ultimate Movie Night Draft Winner 2017. King - or Queen - of Mystery. Hyzenthlay. The 5th Benitle's sex conch.
  • RAWK Scribe
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 76,512
Re: Djimi Traore
« Reply #69 on: May 14, 2023, 02:23:13 pm »
Thanks for that. Always had a soft spot for Traore for some reason, glad to read he's doing well in coaching.
We have to change from doubter to believer. Now.