19-year-old Chaka Traore scores for AC Milan 💥
His story is complex. Born in Ivory Coast. In 2015 he took a small boat from Africa's north coast with the aim to reach Italy.
Once in Italy, Traorè and his agent, who was later found guilty of assisting illegal immigration, were headed to Parma. Traorè was traveling under a false name and was listed as Cissè in his passport.
In Italy, the then 11-year-old took on various part-time jobs to survive before he finally was discovered by U.S. Audace—a prominent academy club in the provincial capital.
There were discussions about Traorè's age. Later a court even suspended the player to clear up his situation as a non-EU player.
Scouts from Parma, to be precise Andrea Monica, then spotted Traorè at the 2017 regional amateur championships.
Monica then recommended the player to Fausto Pizzi, the head of the club's youth academy. Just one training session at the Ducali was enough to convince the club to sign him for their U17.