During the 50th minute of AC Milan’s Coppa Italia last 16 game against Cagliari last night, Chaka Traore realised a dream with his first goal for the club.
As MilanNews writes, it is one of those moments that marks the career of a footballer, to all intents and purposes it is the biggest step that a forward can take. After the Jan-Carlo Simic fairy tale against Monza, it was Traore’s turn.
Traorè was in the Under 17 A at Parma in 2019, and in the league he scored 11 goals and 5 assists in 18 games playing as a left winger, already making it clear that the skills and potential were there for him to become something.
The following season, 2020-21, saw him already involved in Primavera 2 and his performance level did not drop: 9 goals and 9 assists in 15 matches, with two goals also scored in the Under 18 league and even his first team debut against Lazio in the Coppa Italia.
He made five Serie A appearances, and funnily enough his league debut came aganst Milan in April 2021. The Rossoneri had been keeping an eye on him for a while and signed him immediately at the end of that season, putting him in the Primavera initially.
The leap in quality did not phase him as he would end the year with 30 appearances, 9 goals and 6 assists between Youth League, Primavera 1 and Coppa Primavera. In 2022-23 he amassed 8 goals and 6 assists in 30 appearances.
Then, a first professional contract arrived as well as a few minutes in the Champions League first (against Dortmund) and then in the league too (against Frosinone). Last night he was starter in the Coppa Italia, and then in the 50th minute another chapter to his story was added.
Yesterday after the match everyone underlined it – from Stefano Pioli to Antonio Mirante – the young talents in the youth sector are serious, they work hard, they don’t hold back and they play with the right responsibility.
In a complicated moment like this due to the injury crisis, having the right attitude is very important because Milan’s first team now more than ever needs to draw from the Primavera.
