Yaya Touré
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gnégnéri Yaya Touré | ||
| Date of birth | 13 May 1983 | ||
| 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 | 11 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004– | Côte d'Ivoire | 53 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:03, 11 September 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983 in Sekoura Bouaké),[1] commonly known asYaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays for Manchester City. He is adefensive midfielder renowned for coupling physical power with great technique. He was the first player from Côte d'Ivoire to play for FC Barcelona. He has 53 caps for Côte d'Ivoire, representing the team in their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in the 2006 competitionas 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[hide] |
[edit]Club career
[edit]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 Belgianside Beveren for two-and-a-half years and later for one and a half years at Ukrainan sideMetalurh Donetsk.
[edit]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,[2] but subsequently manager Arsène Wenger failed to sign him because he could not secure a work permit.[3]
[edit]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.
[edit]Barcelona
Touré joined Spanish side 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 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.
[edit]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 2009/10 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,[7] 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.[8] In his home debut on 7 August, in another friendly match against Valencia C.F, he was named man of the match.[9] On 14 August 2010, Touré made his Premier League debut in a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[10] A week later, Touré impressed in the 3-0 defeat of Liverpool at Eastlands, forming a part of a three man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong.[11] On 19 September 2010, Touré scored his first goal against Wigan Athletic.[12] The goal was scored in the 70th minute and Toure was assisted byCarlos Tevez who scored in that match too.[13]
[edit]All-time club statistics
As of 19 September 2010[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[15] | Europe[16] | 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 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Career totals | 227 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 43 | 2 | 286 | 23 | |
[edit]International career statistics
[edit]International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 24 January 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Libya | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2. | 3 June 2007 | Stade Bouaké, Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire |  Madagascar | 3-0 | 5-0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3. | 25 January 2008 | Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana |  Benin | 2-0 | 4-1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4. | 20 June 2009 | Stade du 4-Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  Burkina Faso | 0-1 | 2-3 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 5. | 5 September 2009 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire | Burkina Faso | 3-0 | 5-0 | 2010 World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 25 June 2010 | Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa |  Korea DPR | 0-1 | 0-3 | 2010 World Cup |
| 7. | 4 September 2010 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire |  Rwanda | 1-0 | 3-0 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
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