FRIEND: ADAMA IS FRIGHTENING!
FOR most left-backs, the terrifying sight of a charging Adama Traore comes around just twice a season. For poor George Friend, it is a daily occurrence.
“There’s nobody as quick as Adama,” insists the Middlesbrough defender, whose jet-heeled Spanish team-mate once clocked a top-speed of 37km/h – 23mph in old money.
“I’m telling you. Not in the Championship. Not in the Premier League. Not anywhere. I haven’t been all around the world, but I’d be amazed if there was any footballer on the planet who could match Adama for pace.
“I see him in training every day, blazing past people. Half the time, he isn’t even going flat out. He is an incredible athlete.
“If you get tight, he’ll turn you. If you stand off, you give him the option to beat you either side. It’s very hard. Teams now are doubling up or even tripling up on him, but Adama’s got that much strength, speed and intelligence that he usually works them out. He’s a pleasure to play with – just not to train against!”
Traore, 22, had struggled to turn power and pace into plaudits following his £7m move from Barcelona to Aston Villa in 2015.
The winger played just 11 times for the Villans and, despite several spectacular cameos, was never more than a bit-part player at the Riverside under Aitor Karanka and Garry Monk.
Both aired concerns over Traore’s discipline – a notion strengthened by two daft red cards and a well-publicised failure to catch the team bus earlier this season.
Pundit
Yet the appointment of Tony Pulis appears to have galvanised the youngster. Called “unstoppable” by his new manager and tipped to play for Manchester City by pundit Tim Sherwood, Traore’s exhilarating displays have just earned the PFA player of the month award for February – and propelled Boro into the top six.
“All of us are so, so pleased to see him taking the plaudits,” adds Friend. “People talk about his discipline and so on, but they don’t realise his age. He’s only 22.
“And there’s a lot of pressure on him every time he touches the ball. Every time he gets it, he’s expected to beat four or five people – which he often does.
“Even the team ask a lot of him, because we know how devastating he can be driving at defences.
“But to have that burden constantly on your shoulders at such a young age… he copes with it all brilliantly and he never complains. He’s a really great guy. Now he’s learning the other side of the game under Tony Pulis as well – about shape, defending, all those aspects. He really is going to evolve into a worldclass winger.”
Traore isn’t the only Boro player to benefit from the arrival of Pulis, who has spent the last decade managing in the Premier League with Stoke, Crystal Palace and West Brom.
Prior to Monk’s dismissal in December, club stalwart Friend had started just two games in four months. Ever since, the 30year-old has been ever-present.
“I love playing for Middlesbrough,” says Friend, now in his sixth season at the Riverside. “As much as Exeter is my home town, this place has grown to feel like ‘my’ club. Even my two girls have Teesside accents! “Not being able to represent them was disappointing. But I don’t blame Garry.
Authority
“I probably wasn’t playing my best football at the time and, to be fair, Fabio was doing very well. It was just about being professional and getting on with it.
“Tony coming has given me another opportunity. As a person, he’s a real leader. A proper man. He doesn’t have a board with a list of rules or anything like that. He’s just got that natural authority as a person. When he first arrived, he didn’t bring any staff. He had no support, really. But he instantly took control of the whole squad. He knew how to handle the situation.
“He’s just very straight-talking, so you know exactly what’s expected. He treats everyone the same.
“If you know someone is honest like that, you can be very frank with each other.
“I think that’s why he’s had so much success over the years. He’s good with people. And it’s not just players, it’s every single person around the club.”