Moving from player to coach is a path that many footballers take after hanging up their boots, and African football icon Yaya Toure appears to be ready for his first role as a manager. The former Manchester City and Barcelona star will be starting out at a Champions League club, no less.
Toure is best remembered as a midfield powerhouse dominating the Premier League during his eight-year spell at the Etihad. In England, he won three league titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups, having won La Liga and the Champions League, among other major honours, during his time at Barcelona between 2007 and 2010.
He also played for the likes of Olympiacos and Monaco in his career, and retired in 2019 after a short stint in China with Qingdao Huanghai. He has worked as an assistant coach for a number of clubs, but will now have his first shot at management.
Yaya Toure Lands Champions League Manager Job
Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure
In 2021, Toure worked at Olimpik Donetsk and Akhmat Grozny as an assistant before then landing a role as an academy coach for Tottenham Hotspur. After just one season, he moved on to coach with Standard Liege and then spent three years as Saudi Arabia's assistant coach.
He is now reportedly set to land a role as the head coach of Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava. The news will come as a bit of a surprise to some, as he's never played or coached in the country before, but it will be a great opportunity for Toure to prove his credentials.
After all, Slovan Bratislava have made it into the Champions League qualifiers for next season after winning the Slovak First Football League. That was actually their eighth consecutive Slovakia top-flight title, so expectations will be high for the new manager.
Toure takes over from former boss Vladimir Weiss, who stepped down from the role this summer after five successful years in the dugout. According to TalkSport, the Ivorian will hope to have former Celtic and Swansea coach Darren O’Dea as his assistant in the Slovakian capital.
O’Dea is currently a free agent, and has reportedly had a number of opportunities on offer in Scotland, England and abroad, so it remains to be seen if he'll join Toure in Bratislava. The Slovakian club last played in the Champions League in 2024/25, finishing 35th out of 36 teams in the league phase.
Manchester-City-Kolo-Toure
Manchester City - Kolo Toure
Toure isn't the only member of his family currently working in the world of football coaching. Indeed, former Arsenal Invincible and older brother Kolo has been working as an assistant for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City over the past few years. The 45-year-old also coached at Leicester City and for youth teams with the Ivory Coast and Manchester City.
Kolo took charge of Wigan Athletic in November 2022 but lasted until January as three defeats saw his side drop to the bottom of the Championship. Having seen his brother fail to win any of his nine games in charge in his only role as a head coach, Yaya will hope to have more success with Slovan Bratislava.
Kolo is actually a free agent now, as he followed Guardiola out of the door this summer, alongside other City coaches Pep Lijnders, Lorenzo Buenaventura and Xabi Mancisidor.