Cleaning up Ajax’s campaign

Amsterdam: For someone who made his debut for Chelsea in the Champions League, Bertrand Traore doesn’t even begin to disguise how big a blow Ajax’s failure this season to make European football’s elite competition was.

The on-loan forward would far rather have starred in the big, bright lights of the Champions League than on Thursday nights in the Europa League that can feel more like a quiet suburb in comparison.

It is difficult to think of a club with such an illustrious pedigree in European football that has suffered more than Dutch masters Ajax as the rich from ‘The Big Four’ of England, Spain, Italy and Germany have got ever richer.

The bright young things in 1995 – Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert et al — achieved Champions League glory for the Amsterdam artists when 18-year-old Kluivert’s late stab downed AC Milan, following in the footsteps of the golden generation of Johan Cruyff’s Ajax, who won three European Cups in a row from 1971-73.

Nowadays, Ajax have failed to reach the Champions League group stage for the past two seasons. Despairingly, they have not qualified from the group stages of the Champions League to the knockout rounds since way back in 2006.

The humiliating 4-1 loss in Russia to FC Rostov this year, crashing out in the play-off round of the Champions League 5-2 on aggregate, hurt. Badly.

“It was a big disappointment for everyone in the club,” says 21-year-old Traore.

“We were really looking forward to playing in the Champions League.

“We had a bad game in Russia against Rostov so…”.

Traore pauses. Like many youngsters trying to make the grade at Chelsea, the striker is used to pauses in his career.

After signing from Auxerre’s youth side and then being sent on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, the Burkina Faso international made his debut for Chelsea in the midst of Jose Mourinho’s turbulent spell last season, coming off the bench against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League. Guus Hiddink then rewarded him with a spell of appearances in the latter half of the campaign, which brought about Premier League goals against Newcastle United and Stoke City. In mid-August, Traore inked a new three-year contract at Stamford Bridge and was sent out on loan for this season to Ajax to continue his football education under the new manager who was his coach at Vitesse, Peter Bosz.

The result in Rostov may have denied Ajax and Traore Champions League football but with Chelsea absent completely from European competition this campaign, the Europa League does at least offer the opportunity for the forward to continue his continental development. Ajax’s 3-2 win over Celta Vigo on Thursday means they have already qualified for the knockout rounds of the Europa League.

Traore continues: “When we got back to Amsterdam (after Rostov) we spoke to each other as men and then we turned the situation.

“Now we are in good shape.”

Bosz has called for the striker to be in better shape, saying he can do more than what he is currently showing, but alternating between centre-forward and the right side of a front three, Traore has netted a couple of Eredivisie goals and also struck in the Europa League away win at Panathinaikos.

“I’m really enjoying it (at Ajax), I’m enjoying playing football,” Traore told Gulf News recently in an exclusive interview at the Amsterdam Arena.

“As a player you only enjoy football when you are on the pitch – and I’m on the pitch and I’m enjoying it. We are winning the games and yes, I’m enjoying it.”

With Feyenoord not playing Go Ahead Eagles until later on Sunday night, Ajax have the opportunity – temporarily at least - to go level on points with them at the top of the Eredivisie should they win against AZ Alkmaar away.

Comfortably through to the last 16 of the Dutch Cup, it is something Traore – who like legends Kluivert, Marco Van Basten and Zlatan Ibrahimovic before him wears Ajax’s No 9 shirt, “it’s a pleasure for me to wear this shirt,” he smiles. “Big players had this shirt before” – relishes as he bids to achieve what he insists are mirror aims for the campaign for himself and the club.

“Our goal is winning the three competitions we are playing,” Traore says.

“That’s our goal. We have to keep winning games after games and then in the end we will see.”

He adds: “My target is about the team – to reach our goal of the season and then if the team reach the goal then I also reach my goal.”

The goal of returning to be a Stamford Bridge star at the end of the campaign is something he is reluctant to discuss.

“I don’t want to speak about Chelsea now,” he comments. “The most important thing for me is Ajax this season. I have to do good here and then at the end of the season I will see what we have.”

There is, however, another football field in which the forward could star and which he is delighted to discuss.

Having qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in January — Burkina Faso are in a group with Gabon, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau — Traore’s nation are eyeing a World Cup spot in Russia in 2018.

Traore speaks with disappointment about the last World Cup campaign where Burkina Faso failed in an African play-off against Algeria, winning 3-2 at home but heartbreakingly losing 1-0 away to go out on away goals.

But there’s a chance to make amends. Burkina Faso travel to Cape Verde on November 12 knowing a win will be an important aspect of topping a group also containing South Africa and Senegal. Only the group winners go to Russia.

“It’s my dream,” smiles Traore. “It’s a dream for everybody to play in the World Cup. We have a chance. We’ll do our best.”

Factfile

Bertrand Traore

Forward

Burkina Faso international

21-years-old

Clubs: Chelsea 2014-

On-loan at Vitesse Arnhem 2014/15

On-loan at Ajax 2016/17