“Sadio Mane Defends a Lot,” Says Burkina’s Alain Traore

Burkina Faso’s playmaker Alain Traore has over the weekend given his assessment of the Teranga Lions’ opening World Cup 2-1 spanking of Poland, suggesting Sadio Mane isn’t allowed to explode enough as is his game.

The Liverpool wing-wizard was captain of the occasion but endured an almost anonymous outing against Robert Lewandowski and co.

And the 29-year-old Burkinabe feels the viewing public didn’t see much of the Senegalese skipper owing to the coach’s restriction of the player.

“What is a bit of a shame for me is that the coach asked him (Sadio Mane) to defend a lot while he is a very strong player offensively. He must be allowed to attack more often,” the ex-Manchester United trialist said.

“In my opinion, he played a big part in the defensive play of the team in the match against Poland. He lets out a lot of energy and then he does not have the strength to be offensive enough.

“If the coach considers that he must defend, he (must) respect the instructions because collective work takes precedence over everything,” Traore said.

The attacking player currently plays for Qatari side Al-Markhiya.

Alain burst onto the scenes in 2005 during the African U-17 championship where he caught the eyes of United and other English Premier League teams but ended up signing for Auxerre.

A loan switch to Brest, Loreint and Monaco ensued later. However, his spell there was short-lived having seen playing minutes hard to come by.

Then his career took a turn to Turkey where he joined Kayserispor last year before shifting to the riches in the Qatar Stars League.