Put praise for Alain Traore

Burkina Faso coach Paul Put praised injured midfielder Alain Traore for his contribution in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Traore was stretchered off in the final Group C match against Zambia which ended 0-0, a result that took them to the quarter-finals. In the previous match Traore terrorised Ethiopia as his team won 4-0, scoring twice. Against Nigeria, in their first match, Traore netted in the dying seconds of the match. The Super Eagles led from the 23rd minute through Ahmed Musa and just when they thought victory was theirs, the Stallions number 10 struck home to earn his side a valuable point. Such is Traore's influence that Put dedicated the semi-final win against Ghana to him. The Stallions came from a goal down to force extra-time and a penalty shoot-out which ended 3-2 to the Burkinabes. "This victory is for Alain because Alain is also an important player," Put said. "For us we were very happy with his goal scoring performance because without his goals I think we wouldn't be here." This will be west African's first ever AFCON final while Nigeria are gunning for a third title, with their most recent success coming in 1994.