Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Slovak First Football League club Slovan Bratislava.
Touré aspired to be a striker during his youth and has played centre-back, including for Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final. He spent the majority of his career as a central midfielder for club and country, later regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation. Regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, Touré was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut at age 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. He had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos and Monaco, before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 100 matches for the club and was part of the historic Barcelona team that won six trophies in a calendar year, in 2009. In 2010, Touré moved to Premier League club Manchester City, where he scored a number of key goals, most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final. He also helped City earn their first league title in 44 years.
Touré earned 100 caps for the Ivory Coast from 2004 to 2015, representing the nation at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also represented them in six Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while captaining them to victory in 2015. He is the younger brother of fellow former footballer Kolo Touré who was his teammate at Manchester City and the national team.
Club career Early career Touré was born in Bouaké. He joined the ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. A prominent figure in the ASEC academy was Jean-Marc Guillou. In 2001, Guillou invested heavily in a Belgian club, Beveren, with the aim of using the team to showcase Ivorian players in a European league. Touré moved to Beveren in 2001, one of many ASEC players to do so in this period. By 2003, he was one of 14 Ivorians in the Beveren squad.
In the summer of 2003, Touré had a trial with Arsenal.Ivorian gamble failed to pay off for Beveren When Saturday Comes, 10 August 2010 He started a pre-season friendly against Barnet on 19 July which finished a 0–0 draw. The BBC Sport website said that Touré "blotted his copy book by missing Arsenal's clearest chance of the game, heading a cross from Quincy Owusu-Abeyie wide.""Barnet 0–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 19 July 2003. Wenger was still keen to sign the then 20-year-old but Touré had difficulties in receiving a work permit.Wenger: Passport stopped Yaya Toure signing for Arsenal Sport.co.uk, 22 October 2010 Ultimately, Touré grew impatient and opted to sign for Ukrainian club Metalurh Donetsk in December 2003, where he spent one and a half years.
Olympiacos and Monaco Touré joined Olympiacos in 2005. He was described as "the new Patrick Vieira" by his older brother. Olympiacos won the double that season, and Touré was one of their key players. His performances in Greece were impressive and attracted interest from many clubs.
Touré signed for French Ligue 1 club Monaco in August 2006. However, he had a difficult relationship with the incumbent manager, László Bölöni, with Touré claiming Bölöni refused to play him in his preferred midfield position. Bölöni was soon sacked with Monaco languishing in the second-last position in the league table.
Laurent Banide replaced Bölöni and Touré subsequently became an influential player in the second half of the season, scoring five times to help haul the club out of relegation difficulties. He had established himself as a key midfielder, and with interest from around Europe he decided to join Barcelona in the summer of 2007.
Barcelona
Touré joined Spanish La Liga club Barcelona for €10 million (£6.7 million) and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the 2007–08 La Liga season opener against Racing de Santander.Racing Santander 0–0 Barcelona ESPN Soccernet, 26 August 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2008 He scored his first goal in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on 2 September 2007, which Barcelona won 3–1. His first UEFA Champions League match for Barcelona was against Schalke 04 in the 2007–08 quarter-final, securing a 2–0 aggregate victory and a berth in the semi-final.
During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Pep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio. In the 2009 Champions League final, Touré played at centre-back due to injuries and suspensions of first-choice defenders, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona. In late June 2010, Barcelona confirmed that Touré would be allowed to leave the club in the summer window.
Manchester City 2010–11: Debut season and FA Cup On 2 July 2010, Touré signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Manchester City for a fee of around £24 million. He made his Premier League debut on 14 August in a 0–0 away draw against Tottenham Hotspur. A week later, Touré impressed in the 3–0 home win over Liverpool, forming a part of a three-man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong."Manchester City v Liverpool – as it happened". The Guardian. 23 August 2010. On 19 September, Touré scored his first City goal, against Wigan Athletic. The goal was scored in the 70th minute and Touré was assisted by Carlos Tevez, who also scored in that match.Wigan 0–2 Man City BBC Sport, 19 September 2010 Touré had been seen to take up a more attacking position under Roberto Mancini and revelled in the position. In December, he scored a brilliant left-footed drive against West Ham United and soon scored a second, which was later credited as an own goal because the ball rebounded off the post onto goalkeeper Robert Green's back and bounced in.City at West Ham match report . Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
In January 2011, Touré scored his third goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a counter-attack move, with Touré making up 90 yards to latch onto the ball and fire it past the goalkeeper, with Manchester City eventually winning 4–3.Man City v Wolves, Premier League . Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 7 May 2012. Touré's fifth goal for City came on 25 February in a UEFA Europa League match against Aris. The goal was a deflected strike to make the score 3–0 to Manchester City. On 16 April 2011, Touré scored the only goal of the game in a Man of the Match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. Touré continued his Wembley success by scoring the only goal in his team's 1–0 win over Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final,"Man City 1–0 Stoke: Toure wins FA Cup". Goal. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012. ending Manchester City's 35-year wait for a major trophy, and writing himself into Manchester City folklore in the process.
2011–12: First Premier League title The 2011–12 season began strongly as Manchester City led the table for the majority of the season, with Touré playing a vital part in midfield. On 21 December 2011, in a 3–0 home win over Stoke City, Touré set new Premier League records for most passes attempted (168) and most completed (157) in a single match. His efforts and performances were rewarded as he was crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2011, an impressive achievement for a midfielder, since the previous 12 awards have gone to African forwards.
As the 2011–12 came to a close, Manchester City lost ground to Manchester United in the Premier League title race. After a defeat by Arsenal on 8 April 2012, an eight-point deficit had been established between City and leaders United, with most writing off City's chances of winning the league with six matches remaining. However, City defeated West Bromwich Albion 4–0, Norwich City 6–1, and Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 with United slipping-up, meaning the deficit at the top was now only three points with only three matches to play. A victory at home to Manchester United would move City to top on goal difference. The match was keenly anticipated as one of the most important matches the Premier League's 20-year history. Manchester City won the match, thanks to Vincent Kompany headed goal just before half-time. Touré's performance throughout the match garnered many plaudits in the media, describing his performance as "dominant" and "magnificent".
Touré scored a brace on 6 May in City's 2–0 win over Newcastle United, moving three points above Manchester United with one match left to play in the Premier League season.Report: Newcastle United v Manchester City – Barclays Premier League . ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 7 May 2012. Touré played the full first half before coming off due to injury as City defeated Queens Park Rangers 3–2 on the final day of the season, assisting Pablo Zabaleta's opening goal in the 39th minute, to secure the first league championship for City in 44 years.
2012–2014: Collective and individual success
Touré started the 2012–13 season with a goal in the FA Community Shield in the 3–2 win over Chelsea in Aston Villa's stadium Villa Park. This goal was followed up by scoring first for City in two games, against Liverpool at Anfield and against Queens Park Rangers at home. In City's opening UEFA Champions League match of the season, away to Real Madrid, Touré produced a stellar individual performance, assisting an Edin Džeko goal and continually worrying the hosts. However, despite his best efforts, City lost 3–2 to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal. He also scored in the Manchester derby, making it 2–1 to Manchester United, but City eventually lost 3–2. On 20 December 2012, Touré was crowned the 2012 African Player of the Year award at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. It is the second time he has won the award. On 24 February 2013, after returning from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Touré scored the opening goal as City beat Chelsea 2–0 in the Premier League. On 4 April 2013, Touré signed a new contract with City, keeping him at the club until 2017.
Touré scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season with a free kick as City defeated Newcastle United 4–0 in their opening Premier League match. On 22 September 2013, he scored the second goal in a 4–1 derby win over Manchester United and was named man of the match. Under City manager Manuel Pellegrini, Touré was promoted to vice-captain. He regularly captained the team in the first half of the 2013–14 season in the absence of Vincent Kompany. On 2 December, Touré was named the 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year.
On 4 December 2013, Touré scored twice for Manchester City in a 3–2 win at West Bromwich Albion. This took his tally of league goals to seven, his highest in a single Premier League season. On 2 March 2014, Touré scored the equalising goal for Manchester City in the 2014 League Cup final against Sunderland. The match ended in a 3–1 win for Manchester City. He scored the first hat-trick of his career on 22 March in a 5–0 home win over Fulham. Touré scored the third goal for Manchester City on 25 March in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, helping City to a 3–0 victory over their local rivals. On 18 April, Touré was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award before being named in the PFA Team of the Year.
On 7 May 2014, Touré scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season in a 4–0 win against Aston Villa, becoming only the second midfielder to score 20 goals in a Premier League season, after Frank Lampard. His performances helped City to a second Premier League title in three years.