The former Champions League player quickly has risen up the Sounders’ organization and is in his first season as their defensive specialist.
Djimi Traore’s gilded playing career, during which he won the European Champions League with Liverpool and represented the Malian national team, helps explain why the Sounders gave him a coaching shot.
But it doesn’t fully explain his quick rise up the organization’s food chain, from his post-retirement job as an S2 assistant last season to his new gig as a defensive specialist for the MLS team.
“It’s like your resume,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid explained this week.