Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I’M A NOU MAN From Barca boy to Wolves wonder.. Adama Traore says his current success is all down to boss Nuno who told him: You will make any opponent struggle
ADAMA TRAORE says Wolves coach Nuno Espirito Santo has finally unlocked his potential and made him one of the most feared forwards in English football.
Traore was discovered at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, where he trained with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta before making a £7million move to Aston Villa in 2015.
After just a season at Villa Park, he moved to Middlesbrough where he worked with Aitor Karanka, and later Tony Pulis, before joining Wolves for a club-record £18m in the summer of 2018. He has not looked back since.
“Nuno has been a massive figure for me,” said Traore (above, with the Wolves coach). “It’s the confidence he gives me. From the first day I came to Wolves he just made me feel that he believes I can take on any player and make them struggle.
“That is massive for a player. If you ask any of the guys, they will tell you that the confidence of the manager is as important as the training you do. A lot has changed for me but the football ability has always been there – I’ve just needed to adjust a few things. The coach, food, and the attitude to keep working, because when you continue working hard everything eventually falls into place.”
Most footballers have pictures of their wives, kids or themselves as the screen saver on their phone but 24-year-old Traore has the picture of a player he adores and grew up watching from close quarters during his time at the Nou Camp, Ronaldinho.
According to the Wolves flyer, there will never be another like the Brazilian magician. “My idol was Ronaldinho, he was at a different level to anyone and I grew up watching him and wanting to be like him. There will always only be one Ronaldinho,” he said.
“When he came in he changed everything. Before him Real Madrid used to win everything. They had the Galacticos but he came to Barcelona and told us all we could beat them. That changed everything at the club from top to bottom.
“Though I was at Barcelona I didn’t get to train with him but I remember I used to go in just to watch him train and he was in a different world to everyone. Ronaldinho was the definition of magic. Every time he touched the ball you knew he was going to cause havoc.”
This season, Traore’s mother Fatoumata has been ever-present at Molineux.
A 100m runner during her youth in Mali before migrating to Spain, she has instilled confidence and a hunger for hard work which he believes has been central to his recent success. “One thing she taught me was belief,” Traore
Barcelona B Barcelona Aston Villa Middlesbrough Wolves 63 (8) 1 (0) 11 (0) 61 (5) 51 (5)
went on. “She said opportunities will be limited but if I focused and worked hard, and if my mind was clear, then I would get everything I wanted.
“I have seen that people don’t want to put in the work. They just want everything now.
“In life you have to focus on your work and don’t think about the end before you get there. Before you know it, everything will come.”
With 10 games to the end of the season, Wolves are sixth in the table on the same points total as Man United and still pushing in the Europa League. But Traore is adamant there is no need to set targets, just take every game as it comes.
“The mindset is not like we have to qualify for the Champions League, but I think we have to take every game seriously,” he said.
“At this level every game is tough, so you can’t just be thinking of qualification. We are in Europe and it’s so hard to tell what might happen so the mindset is to be up and ready to fight and get something from every game.”