After his midweek start against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia, Chaka Traore had to settle for coming off the bench against Empoli yesterday but he certainly left his mark.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, after the third Milan goal Stefano Pioli celebrated with his arms in the air, despite the win being assured thanks to the two first half goals in truth.
Traorè’s goal was another victory: a mark left by the many young talents who have joined up with the first team. He came on looking for a first ever Serie A goal, and when Christian Pulisic led a counter-attack late on he took advantage of the feed that came his way.
He was the first in 2004-born player to make his Serie A debut (with Parma), then he actually made his senior Milan debut in the Champions League (28 November, against Dortmund at San Siro).
He scored against Cagliari and Empoli, becoming the youngest Milan player – at 19 years and 15 days old – to have scored in two consecutive matches since the beginning of the last decade.
Now that he has entered the world of adults, it is time to settle down permanently in the new apartment in the San Siro area, a stone’s throw from the boarding school that until recently he shared with other kids from the youth sector.
And it’s time to start driving: beyond training pitch he is also gearing up for the tests required to gain his driving license. In the meantime he travels with the team bus, of course.
At the end of the match he received more hugs than usual, from teammates and friends who had followed him here, now the Ivorian doesn’t want to stop after his first goals or slow down after the first compliments.
Pioli, after the celebration, explained: “The young people were welcomed very well by the more experienced. They accompany them in the right way: sometimes they compliment them, other times they pull their ears. They are guys with great humility, not easy to find today.”
That has given additional solution to attacking department as Okafor can be considered as ST alternative even more. So no need for panic buy.