He packed his bags in Burgundy at the end of the summer, on tiptoe, with this embarrassed smile that never leaves him. In these troubled times when the destiny of a club sometimes changes with a phone call, lovers ofAJ Auxerre wondered what such a highly rated footballer arriving from England was made of. Two months later,
Hamed Junior Traore gave them the best answer. It’s no longer a curiosity. It’s a feeling.
Loaned without purchase option by Bournemouth, the 24-year-old Ivorian international is the thrill player of a promoted player who is sinking his teeth into his season. Recruited to fill the departure in Metz of the influential Gauthier Hein, the new offensive leader of the AJA had to take a strange route to find his way to the high level. Magneto.
Bottle-fed by De Zerbi in Italy
Hamed Junior Traoré made the big leap to Europe at 13. It was in Italy that the native of Abidjan trained, in Empoli, where he launched into the deep end of professional football in 2017. “I was without my parents, but not alone. I was in an Ivorian host family with two other young people. We did a year, then we went to a training center”he explained in an interview for L’Équipe, a few weeks ago. Dazzling in the categories of his age, the young Ivorian was quickly spotted by Sassuolo, who secured his services in the form of a loan in 2019 before acquiring him two years later. A prosperous first period. With the NeroverdiHamed Junior Traoré observes, learns, collects and builds himself, notably under the tutelage of a certain Roberto De Zerbi. “I had a lot of fun playing with him. He helped me at all levels, tactical, physical and technical”recognized the attacking midfielder, before the two men met again at the Vélodrome to the resounding victory of AJA against OM (3-1).
The story begins. Became a rising value of Serie Awhere AC Milan is courting him, Hamed Junior Traoré opens another part of his career when Patrice Beaumelle summons him to the team
Ivory Coast. It is September 2021.
“When I arrived in Ivory Coast, I was appointed at the beginning of March 2020 and Covid hit the world, remembers the technician.
From March to October, we no longer have international matches. On the other hand, Italy continues to play its championship behind closed doors and 3 young players caught my attention there: Amad Diallo (then at Atalanta), Jérémie Boga (Sassuolo) and Hamed Junior Traoré (Sassuolo). »
With Junior, as all his teammates call him, there is what we see at first glance: the boy’s technical quality. Current coach of MC Alger, Patrice Beaumelle was immediately struck by his touch on the ball. “His first qualities are this ease with the ball, always with his head raised, and this great vision of the game. He has this ability to keep the ball when necessary or give it to a touch. I found natural qualities in him. »
There is what we see less, too. Easy, elegant, fast, the Ivorian international is reaping the benefits of his Italian training. Great tactical discipline, with and without the ball.
“He has this background in understanding the game and analyzing it. When I take it, I know that I can put it below the attacker or on one side with the same performance, continues Patrice Beaumelle. In Italy, even if the Catenaccio is no longer very relevant, the defensive animation when losing the ball is very important. To be able to play in Serie A and adhere to the coaches’ projects, you need this tactical understanding. »
A playing intelligence to which is added an unexpected athletic dimension for this average size (1.77m). Far from having the physique of a mover, the young man is quick and tough. And his ball protection is valuable when surrounded.
“He’s not big but he’s muscular, specifies his former coach. He uses his body play. He has a lot of maturity despite his young age. It’s natural for him to resist shocks. His low center of gravity already allows him to avoid contact, but also to go to a duel when necessary. And because he reads the play before the others, he’s ready for the action to begin. » At the microphone of DAZN, Roberto De Zerbi had summarized before OM-AJA all the good things he thinks of his former player.
“He’s a great talent!” I trained him when he was younger. He is also a very courageous person.”.
“When he missed the CAN because of malaria, he was disappointed for himself but pride for his brothers took over”
Patrice Beaumelle, his former coach
After Italy, Hamed Junior Traoré is heading to England in the winter of 2023, in the form of a loan with obligation to purchase at Bournemouth. Change of atmosphere. Acclimatizing to the Premier League is more difficult. The Ivorian continues his apprenticeship there but also goes through some turbulence, due to a stubborn foot injury. Return to Italy a year later, with a loan to Naples, where he became an important part of Francesco Calzona, who started him at the Camp Nou against Barça in the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League, in the spring of 2024.
However, in the meantime, the progress of the attacking midfielder has been slowed down by a hard blow. Hamed Junior Traoré withdrew from the CAN after contracting malaria. Ivory Coast will be crowned at home. Feelings intertwine.
“At the beginning, there was a little pang in the heart, which quickly passed. I am a believer and if God did not want me to participate in the CAN because I was sick, only he knows the reasons. I can only accept and move forward. » Patrice Beaumelle says a lot about his state of mind. “Malaria is unfortunately part of everyday life in Africa. I’ve had it twice, it’s amazing. In beliefs, it is often said that it is God who decides. When he missed this CAN because of malaria, he was obviously disappointed for himself but pride for his brothers took over. He’s such a good boy… In many African footballers, there is a humility, a love of the country, an adhesion. It’s very powerful. » An additional element of context to explain the non-linear trajectory of this talent.
Because a question inevitably torments observers: how could this diamond land with a promoted player in Ligue 1? Attacking coach for AJA – of which he is a legend – Djibril Cissé doesn’t beat around the bush. “Junior is a player who has the level to play elsewhere,” he exclaimed in L’Équipe du Soir. For me, Junior, he plays in Marseille, he plays in Lille, he plays in Monaco, he plays in a lot of Ligue 1 clubs! We’re lucky to have him, we’re not going to complain…”. For Patrice Beaumelle, the resonance of Auxerre in Ivory Coast weighed in the balance. “French football is very popular there. He saw all the big brothers who were able to play in this club, Ivorian internationals like Bonaventure Kalou, but also French nationals like Djibril Cissé, Basile Boli… You know, football is a small family. People call each other. What’s better than going to AJA to excel and string together matches? The important thing at his age is to play. »
Auxerre, the right place at the right time
Don’t count on Hamed Junior Traoré to puff out his chest. With his well-stocked CV and his little reputation, the star recruit of the summer could have arrived looking down on everyone. It didn’t happen. The young man is rather surprising with his simplicity. He is said to be humble, accessible, outgoing, endearing, a bit mischievous, always caring. At the Vélodrome, we saw it driver a teammate on a counter-attack, before smiling with his thumbs up. An ambition expressed gently for a player who blends into his new cocoon. Christophe Pélissier is categorical: “Beyond being a great player, he is above all a great boy! ». The term comes up again. As if all the Ivorian coaches were passing the buck…
“He’s a son from a good family. He has a remarkable education, agrees with his former coach. I remember his hazing. With his smile, he put on the music and danced. The other players immediately adopted him like a brother. There were some great clients like Sébastien Haller, Nicolas Pépé, Wilfried Zaha, Gervinho and Max-Alain Gradel who were still there… But he was not inhibited! Because he has this ‘football language’. And then he is always on time, very serious, very professional. He knows where he wants to go but he is respectful, disciplined, well-mannered… just like his football: clean and efficient. »
After a victory at Abbé-Deschamps, it is not uncommon to see him communing with the Ajaist people by dancing like a child, smiling from ear to ear alongside old timers, like Captain Jubal or the guard Donovan Leon. Over the weeks, the Ivorian was won over by the atmosphere so british from this stage. Stands close to the pitch, a green billiards table to admire his silky technique, and the hubbub of a small venue full of each match, in the sun or in the rain – including Friday, work day.
This was also the meaning given to this adventure: immersing yourself in an atmosphere conducive to performance. Since the first comeback two years ago, something has been happening in Auxerre. With its 35,000 souls, its cathedral and its charming quays, this city remains a special corner in the French football landscape. It’s a real balloon land where life is good, the kind of ideal place to restore your health close to the capital. Traoré thus reconnects with his first loves, he who had known the tranquility of these small towns in Italy, near Sassuolo and Empoli.
The AJA, for its part, has achieved a small feat by attracting a player of this caliber in 2024, in an ecosystem where everything is done to wipe it off the map. In Auxerre, this tradition is not new. Renowned for its training, the Burgundian club has also built its rich past on these pretty shots at a lower cost. In bulk, let’s mention Andrzej Szarmach, Frank Verlaat, Enzo Scifo, Laurent Blanc and of course Bonaventure Kalou. So many ephemeral but successful marriages, with a single goal for all parties: to be in the right place, at the right time.
Regardless, Hamed Junior Traoré is only at the beginning of his story. The most beautiful chapters have yet to be written. “In its evolution, I think it will leave its mark in France and in Europe,” predicts Patrice Beaumelle. Take a Franck Kessié, even if he doesn’t play in the same position: he was in the country, played in Serie B, in Serie A, where he had good matches… But that’s when he arrived at AC Milan that we saw what a top player he was. If he makes the right choices, I see this type of trajectory for him. » In the foggy sky of Ligue 1, comet Traoré will perhaps leave as quickly as it arrived, like a shooting star. For now, let’s let it shine on the banks of the Yonne…
Comments collected by Jean-Charles Danrée
