Bertrand Traoré and an inspired generation of Burkina Faso by Anderson Zavala
I wanted to highlight the importance of Bertrand within this process, who is for some people admired and recognized for being a player who has made it to play at the top level, firstly having a formation in one of the best teams in the world which is Chelsea FC after he was discovered at Auxerre Youth, which is such an important football institution in France; and then his remarkable performances at Ajax, Lyon, and nowadays at Aston Villa. We can say he has managed well to be playing in the most competitive level; as well as, he has managed well in the national team, even sharing squad with his elder brother Alain, we can consider Bertrand Traoré as a key player for the success of Burkina Faso national team.
In the last years we just heard about Bertrand as a Burkinabe in Europe; however, in 2019 appeared another interesting footballer, Lassina Traoré (20), who impressed at Ajax Cape Town, and nowadays plays for Shakhtar Donetsk after they bought him from Ajax; then appeared Edmon Tapsoba (22) in 2020 at Leverkusen after he had impressed at Vitória Guimarães SC in 2019, nowadays Tapsoba is showing all his potential and he is one to watch at every single game with his club at Bundesliga.
This year we have seen the rising of Abdoul Tapsoba (20 – Standard Liège) and Issa Kaboré (20 – Troyes, on loan from Man City).
In the same way, we have seen the call-up of different young players for the national team, such as Hassane Bandé (22 – Istra 1961, on loan from Ajax), Mohamed Konaté (23 – Akhmat Grozny), Dylan Ouedraogo (23 – OH Leuven), Ben Zagrè (22 – Guimarães B), Abdoul Bandaogo (23 – R.B. Linense), Dramane Salou (23 – former Pyunik Yerevan player).
No doubt, Burkina Faso national team has strengthened, more and more players will be scouted from European teams, this is just the beginning, it’s a huge progress, a couple of years before there were just few players in top leagues.
I wish you the best Burkina Faso for the future challenges!