Yaya Touré

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983 in Bouake), also spelled Yaya Touré or Touré Yaya, is an Côte d'Ivoire association football who currently plays for Spain La Liga club FC Barcelona. Yaya Touré is a defensive midfielder renowned for coupling physical power with great technique and ball skill. Yaya Touré is the first player from Côte d'Ivoire to play for FC Barcelona. Yaya Touré has 27 Cap (football) for Côte d'Ivoire national football team, representing the team in their first ever appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in 2006.

Touré is the younger brother of Manchester City F.C. defender Kolo Touré. Yaya Touré also has a younger brother named Ibrahim Touré who currently plays for Al-Ittihad (Aleppo) in Syria.

Club career

Early career

Touré joined ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of Yaya Touré long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. Yaya Touré then moved to Europe where Yaya Touré played for Belgium side KSK Beveren for two-and-a-half years and later for one and a half years at Ukraine side FC Metalurh Donetsk.

Olympiacos

Touré then moved to Olympiacos F.C. in 2005 after being discovered by the Greek scout from Bexlekos, Matthew Taylor. Yaya Touré was nicknamed "the new Patrick Vieira" by Yaya Touré older brother Kolo. Ahead of the 2005-06 Premiership season, Yaya Touré spent a period during pre-season on trial at Arsenal, but failed to seal a permanent move. Yaya Touré 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.

FC Barcelona

Touré joined Catalan giants FC Barcelona for €9 million and made Yaya Touré official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander.

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against F.C. Internazionale Milano from Italy, Touré scored Yaya Touré first goal for Barcelona in a 5-0 victory. Yaya Touré scored Yaya Touré first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on 2 September 2007. Yaya Touré first goal in the UEFA Champions League for Barca was against FC Schalke 04 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 F.C., which they subsequently lost 1-0 over two legs.

During the early stages of the FC Barcelona season 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Josep Guardiola favoured Sergi 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 Yaya Touré 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, Yaya Touré played centre back due to injuries and suspensions, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona.

On June 27 2009, Yaya Toure signed a new 1-year extension that will keep Yaya Touré at the Catalan club until 2012.

All-time club statistics

As of May 30 2009

Honours

Mimosas

- Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division:
- - Winner (1): Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division Champions

Olympiacos

- Super League Greece:
- - Winner (1): Alpha Ethniki 2005-06
- Greek Cup:
- - Winner (1): Greek Cup 2005-06

FC Barcelona

- La Liga:
- - Winner (1): La Liga 2008-09
- Copa del Rey:
- - Winner (1): Copa del Rey 2008–09
- UEFA Champions League:
- - Winner (1): 2009 UEFA Champions League Final

International career statistics

Goals for senior national team