Traore hopes for European success with Anzhi
Ivory Coast forward Lacina Traore is holding out hopes of European success after his club Anzhi Makhachkala beat Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in qualifying. "It was a very important win for our club, which put us into the play-off round," said the Anzhi striker, who missed Thursday's match with a hip injury. "We proved the strength of our team and I believe we will manage to go through into Europa League group stage. I know that we all will do our best to extend our Europa League campaign as long as we can." The 21-year-old forward, who was called up by national manager Sabri Lamouchi for the friendly with Russia on August 15, said he was unlikely to play in the Russian capital as he has yet to make a full recovery. "Our team doctor has not yet given me permission to practice as hard as I can and I just can't wait to return to regular practices again. I've not yet hit top form but I hope to gain it soon after full recovery." Traore, who won Romania's championship in 2010 with CFR Cluj, added that despite the win over Vitesse, his teammates will still need to concentrate on the upcoming Russian league match with CSKA in Moscow. "We shouldn't lose points in domestic league to achieve this season's main objective, which Guus (Hiddink) set -- to become one of the Russian teams to beat and stay there." The rangy forward also said he was happy at Anzhi after moving from Kuban Krasnodar. "I have never felt any post-decision regrets as there's very good chemistry and very professional attitude here in Anzhi," he added.
