Yaya Touré

Yaya Touré
Balon disputado FC Barcelona - Real Valladolid.jpg
Personal information
Full name Gnégnéri Yaya Touré
Date of birth 13 May 1983 (1983-05-13) (age 27)
Place of birth Sekoura Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club Manchester City
Number 42
Youth career
1996–2001 Mimosas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2001–2003 Beveren 70 (3)
2003–2005 Metalurh Donetsk 33 (3)
2005–2006 Olympiacos 19 (3)
2006–2007 Monaco 27 (5)
2007–2010 Barcelona 74 (4)
2010– Manchester City 3 (0)
National team‡
2004– Côte d'Ivoire 53 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:39, 29 August 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02/07/2010

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983 in Sekoura Bouaké[2]), commonly known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays for Manchester City. He is a defensive midfielder renowned for coupling physical power with great technique. He was the first player from Côte d'Ivoire to play for Barcelona. He has 53 caps for Côte d'Ivoire, representing the team in their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in the 2006 competition as well as in 2010.

He is the younger brother of his Côte d'Ivoire and Manchester City teammate Kolo Touré. He also has a younger brother named Ibrahim who currently plays for Smouha in Egypt.

Contents

Club career

Early career

Touré joined ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. He then moved to Europe where he played for Belgian side Beveren for two-and-a-half years and later for one and a half years at Ukrainan side Metalurh Donetsk.

Olympiacos

Touré then moved to Olympiacos in 2005. He was nicknamed "the new Patrick Vieira" by his older brother. Before joining Olympiacos Touré had a trial with Arsenal, starting in a match against Barnet[3], but subsequently manager Arsène Wenger failed to sign him.

Monaco

After representing Côte d'Ivoire in the 2006 World Cup, Touré was signed by French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in August 2006.[4] He played at the Stade Louis II for one season before leaving for FC Barcelona.

Barcelona

Yaya Touré (fourth from right) with Barcelona in the 2008-09 season.

Touré joined Spanish Barcelona for €9 million and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander.[5]

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Internazionale of Italy, Touré scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 victory. He scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Club on 2 September 2007. His first goal in the Champions League for Barça was against Schalke in the 2007–08 quarter-finals. The goal proved to decide the tie and Barcelona advanced into a semi-final match-up against Manchester United, which they subsequently lost 1–0 over two legs.

During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Josep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio. In the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, he played 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 was allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Manchester City

Touré's agent Dimitri Seluk announced that Manchester City had agreed a fee believed to be around £24 million with Barcelona it has been said he is earning £200,000 a week and is one of the highest-paid premier league players because of his pedigree as a Champions League and La Liga winner in the 2009/2010 season.[6] The deal was finalized with Manchester City on 2 July, the club later announced he signed a 5 year deal. Touré joined his elder brother Kolo at Manchester City, Kolo having signed for the club in July 2009. He was allocated squad number 42, which is the reverse of the number 24 jersey he sported at Barcelona, since Patrick Vieira had previously been allocated that number. On 28 July, Touré made his debut for City in a pre-season friendly against Club América which City won 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with the Mexican side. In his home debut on 7 August, in another friendly match against Valencia C.F, he was named man of the match. On 14 August 2010, Touré made his Premier League debut in a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[7] A week later, Touré impressed in the 3-0 defeat of Liverpool at Eastlands, forming a part of a sturdy three man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong.

All-time club statistics

As of 17 May 2010[8]

Club Season League Cup[9] Europe[10] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
ASEC Mimosas 2001
Beveren 2001–02 28 0 28 0
2002–03 30 3 30 3
2003–04 12 0 12 0
Total 70 3 70 3
Metalurh Donetsk 2003–04 11 1 0 0 11 1
2004–05 22 2 2 1 4 1 28 4
Total 33 3 2 1 4 1 39 5
Olympiacos 2005–06 19 3 6 0 25 3
Total 19 3 6 0 25 3
Monaco 2006–07 27 5 2 0 29 5
Total 27 5 2 0 29 5
Barcelona 2007–08 26 1 3 0 9 1 38 2
2008–09 25 2 6 1 12 0 43 3
2009–10 23 1 3 0 11 0 37 1
Total 74 4 12 1 32 1 118 6
Manchester City 2010–11 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
Total 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
Career totals 225 18 16 2 43 2 284 22

International career statistics

Goals for senior national team

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 January 2006 Cairo, Egypt  Libya 2–1 Won 2006 Africa Cup of Nations
2 3 June 2007 Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire  Madagascar 5–0 Won 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3 25 January 2008 Sekondi, Ghana  Benin 4–1 Won 2008 African Nations Cup
4 20 June 2009 Stade du 4-Août, Ouagadougou  Burkina Faso 3–2 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 5 September 2009 Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire  Burkina Faso 5–0 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 25 June 2010 Mbombela Stadium, South Africa  Korea DPR 3–0 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Côte d'Ivoire ASEC Mimosas

Greece Olympiacos

Spain FC Barcelona

References

  1. ↑ Barcelona profile
  2. ↑ Barcelona profile
  3. ↑ http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/5689/38/
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ Soccernet match report soccernet.com, August 26, 2007, accessed January 24, 2008
  6. ↑ Soccernet news soccernet.com, August 9, 2010, accessed August 9, 2010
  7. ↑ "Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Manchester City". ESPN Soccernet. 2010-08-14. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=293013&cc=5739&league=ENG.1. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
  8. ↑ Soccernet player statistics
  9. ↑ Includes Supercopa de España
  10. ↑ Includes UEFA Supercup

External links

Manchester City F.C. – current squad

1 Given · 2 Richards · 3 Bridge · 4 Kompany · 5 Zabaleta · 6 M. Johnson · 7 Milner · 8 Wright-Phillips · 9 Adebayor · 11 A. Johnson · 12 Taylor · 13 Kolarov · 14 Santa Cruz · 17 Boateng · 18 Barry · 19 Lescott · 21 Silva · 24 Vieira · 25 Hart · 26 González · 27 Jô · 28 K. Touré · 29 Etuhu · 30 Logan · 32 Tévez (c) · 34 De Jong · 36 Vidal · 38 Boyata · 42 Y. Touré · 43 Nimely · 45 Balotelli · 50 Ibrahim · Manager: Mancini