Yaya Touré

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Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983 in Bouake), written Touré Yaya on his jersey, is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays for Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga. He is a defensive midfielder renowned for coupling physical power with great technique. He is the first player from Côte d'Ivoire to play for Barcelona. He has 34 caps for Côte d'Ivoire, representing the team in their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in the 2006 edition.

He is the younger brother of Manchester City captain and defender Kolo Touré. He also has a younger brother named Ibrahim who currently plays for Al-Ittihad in Syria.

[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 Belgian side Beveren for two-and-a-half years and later for one and a half years at Ukrainan side Metalurh Donetsk.

[edit] Olympiacos

Touré then moved to Olympiacos in 2005 after being discovered by the Greek scout from Bexlekos, Matthew Taylor. He was nicknamed "the new Patrick Vieira" by his older brother Kolo. Ahead of the 2005–06 Premiership season, he spent a period during pre-season on trial at Arsenal, but failed to seal a permanent move. He was also selected by Eurosport in 2005 as one of the most promising young players worldwide, a notable list that also included Javier Mascherano and Sergio Agüero.

[edit] Barcelona

Touré joined Catalan giants Barcelona for €9 million and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander.^[2]

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Internazionale from 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 Bilbao 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 but, despite rumours of an impending exit, Touré played consistently well when given the opportunity to do so and won his place back in the New Year. For the remaining months of the season, Touré was an ever-present in the Barcelona side that went on to win The Treble. In the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, he played centre back due to injuries and suspensions, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona.

On 27 June 2009, Touré signed a new one-year extension that will keep him at the Catalan club until 2012.^[3]

[edit] All-time club statistics

As of 02 December 2009^[4]

[edit] Honours

[edit] ASEC Mimosas

• Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: (1) 2001

[edit] Olympiacos

• Greek Super League: (1) 2005–06
• Greek Cup: (1) 2005–06

[edit] Barcelona

• Spanish League: (1) 2008–09
• Spanish Cup: (1) 2008–09
• Spanish Supercup: (1) 2009
• UEFA Champions League: (1) 2008–09
• UEFA Super Cup: (1) 2009

[edit] International career statistics

[edit] Goals for senior national team

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Yaya Touré French league stats at lfp.fr (French)
• Goal.com profile
• FC Barcelona official site profile

v • d • e Côte d'Ivoire squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up 1 Tizié • 2 Akalé • 3 Boka • 4 K. Touré • 5 Zokora • 6 Kouassi • 7 Faé • 8 Kalou • 9 A. Koné • 10 Yapi Yapo • 11 Drogba • 12 Méïté • 13 Zoro • 14 B. Koné • 15 Dindane • 16 Gnanhouan • 17 Domoraud • 18 Keïta • 19 Y. Touré • 20 Demel • 21 Eboué • 22 Romaric • 23 Barry • Coach: Michel

v • d • e Côte d'Ivoire squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Tizié • 2 Akalé • 3 Boka • 4 K. Touré • 5 Zokora • 6 Kouassi • 7 Faé • 8 Kalou • 9 A. Koné • 10 Yapi Yapo • 11 Drogba • 12 Méïté • 13 Zoro • 14 B. Koné • 15 Dindane • 16 Gnanhouan • 17 Domoraud • 18 Keïta • 19 Y. Touré • 20 Demel • 21 Eboué • 22 Romaric • 23 Barry • Coach: Michel

v • d • e Côte d'Ivoire squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Fourth Place 1 Barry • 2 Djakpa • 3 Boka • 4 K. Touré • 5 Zokora • 6 Gohouri • 7 Faé • 8 S.Kalou • 9 A. Koné • 10 Gervinho • 11 Drogba • 12 Méïté • 13 Romaric • 14 B. Koné • 15 Dindane • 16 Loboué • 17 Tiéné • 18 Keïta • 19 Y. Touré • 20 Sanogo • 21 Eboué • 22 Zoro • 23 T. Koné • Coach: Gili