Former Manchester City and Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure on Tuesday hailed the dawn of “a new era” as he prepares to become the first African to coach a team in the UEFA Champions League when his Slovan Bratislava side take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Toure, 43, left his position as an assistant coach with the Saudi Arabian national team before taking over in July at Slovakia’s dominant club, domestic champions in each of the last eight seasons. Toure, who won 97 caps for Ivory Coast, was part of the Barcelona team under Pep Guardiola that claimed the Champions League title in 2009. His new team won their first four domestic league matches of the season but have lost two on the bounce heading into their trip to Paris. However, he insists there is no pressure on Slovan who lost all eight games on their last appearance in the league phase two years ago as they face Luis Enrique’s side, the back-to-back champions.
He then led Slovan through three qualifying rounds to secure a place in the lucrative league phase of Europe’s elite club competition. No African before him has coached a team in the Champions League, although there are examples of Europeans born in Africa who have been in the dugout in the competition. Carlos Queiroz and Paulo Fonseca are Portuguese but were born in Mozambique, while France’s Jean Tigana was born in Bamako.
“It is true that it feels a bit strange,” Toure told reporters in Paris on the eve of his team’s game against the reigning European champions.
