Ali Traoré

Ali Traoré (born 28 February 1985 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast ) is a French basketball player. Traoré comes from the training program of the French championship record ASVEL Villeurbanne out, with which he himself was champion twice. After he was in 2001 youth team player for France, he managed until 2009 the leap into the men's national team, with whom he won the silver medal at the European Championships in 2011 and took part in the 2012 Olympic Games. After a lengthy, sustained at the Olympics injury he undertook the German first division club ALBA Berlin a comeback in February 2013, and won with this club the BBL Cup in 2013.

Career

Traoré was born as the son of two Malian basketball player in the Ivory Coast. His father later got a job as a trainer in France, while Traoré began at the age of almost 14 years, in terms of performance to play basketball. Nevertheless, he came back in 2000 as a 15- year-old into the training program of the prestigious French Club ASVEL. In 2001 he has already participated for the U16 national team at the European Championship finals, where the youth team finished fifth. Then he was allowed me exercising in the 2001/ 02 season with the first team ASVEL and under coach Bogdan Tanjevic already two short assignments to complete in the LNB Pro A ASVEL who finished at the end by winning their 16th championship. While he was still active for the youth team of ASVEL, he got under new coach Philippe Hervé two more brief appearances in the top French league. In 2004 he finally decided to move to the United States, where he as before Yakhouba Diawara first went to the Junior College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, whose basketball team Golden Eagles of the most successful teams in the National Junior College Athletic Association ( NJCAA ) include. At the beginning of 2005 broke Traoré college education from and joined in February 2005, the French second division club Union Jeanne d' Arc Phalange ( UJAP ) from the Breton Quimper in the Pro B, which in the first round of play at the end of the season offs were eliminated by the rise.

2005 Traoré returned to the first French Pro A League and in the Rhône-Alpes region and played for Chorale Roanne Basket of which were eliminated in the qualifying round for the Championship play-offs at the end of the season. He then played two seasons in the north of France, " Saint -Thomas Basket" ( STB) from Le Havre, where he advanced to the " Starting Five " and got in the top division on average over 20 minutes of operating time. 2008 STB reached the fifth place after the main round his best-ever placing, but retired in the first round of the playoffs against the defending champion and former club Chorale Roanne from Traoré. Then Traoré returned to Lyon to ASVEL, where he gave a new boost his career under ASVEL 's new coach Vincent Collet. ASVEL not only won the first place after the main round, but was victorious in the play-offs and won its 17th championship in 2009. Then Traoré was appointed by the new national team coach Collet in the cadre of men's national team. In the European Championship finals in 2009 they won all five primary and intermediate round matches, but lost the quarter-finals with 20 points difference against the weak gestarten world champions and eventual winners Spain and took two wins in the placement round in fifth place, although after only one defeat in the quarter-finals had the best record of all participating teams. In the 2009/10 season ASVEL won though the League Cup " Semaine de ace ", but missed as the defending champion with the ninth place play-off for the championship. Traoré was nevertheless honored as the best French player of the Pro A in the season 2009/10. In the Basketball World Championship 2010, the French squad lost the final group game against New Zealand and surprisingly retired after a second round defeat against hosts Turkey early from the tournament.

2010 Traoré moved abroad, playing for Virtus Lottomatica again under coach Tanjevic in the Italian capital Rome. While 2010/11, reached the second round of the 16 best teams in the highest European club competition, the ULEB Euro League, you missed as the main round of the ninth Lega Basket Serie A play-off for the national championship. With the national Traoré won the pre-Olympic tournament in London and preparing for the European Championship finals in 2011 they lost in primary and intermediate round only the final game against defending champion Spain. Then we moved into the final round after two wins in the final one, where you again defeated Spain, and won the silver medal. This also meant qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games. During the season of 2011/12 Traoré played for Kuban locomotive from the Russian city of Krasnodar. In the PBL 2011/12 and the VTB United League 2011/12 was achieved in each case to qualify for the Final Four tournament, while 2011/12 was eliminated in European club competition Eurocup in the quarterfinals against national rivals and eventual winners BK Khimki. At the Olympic Games in London in 2012 they won after a defeat against defending champion United States all round games, but then retired again after a quarterfinal defeat by European champions Spain out of the tournament. After a knee injury at the Olympic Games Traoré completed at the beginning of the season 2012/13 no longer a game for his Russian club and left it in December 2012. Subsequent exposure to KK Red Star Belgrade fell through and after the commitment by the German first division club ALBA Berlin graduated Traoré until the end of February its first use after the Olympics. In Alba he played again with his former Roman teammates Nihad Djedović together and won the BBL Cup in 2013. After another injury, he could ALBA in the play- offs for the championship of the National Basketball League 2012/13 no longer help in the the club was eliminated early in the first round. After he missed the European Championship finals in 2013 when France won the title for the first time as a result of the injury, he spent the 2013/14 season back to France for the reigning champions JSF Nanterre near Paris.

Others

Traoré is known to never be at a loss for a spell, and the Twitter account bomaye12 the " Rumble in the Jungle" with which this brought the local crowd behind him in memory of Muhammad Ali's battle cry.