![]() Having given so much on the pitch, now Toure has turned his hand to giving back. "If you remember after that, the following years was when the players started to come in easy, like they were joining Barcelona, because they knew something was going on there, something was changing, and the fans and players started believing." "The goal against United was in a really important derby, but it made a real difference when we won the trophy because after that everything changed," he said. Image: Yaya Toure wheels away after scoring Man City's winner in the 2011 FA Cup final at Wembley His winning goals against Manchester United and Stoke in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final brought Manchester City's 34-year wait for a trophy to an end, changing the course of the club's history and laying the foundations for the success he enjoyed and which continues to this day. The term 'legend' is used far too frequently in football but, in the case of Toure, who made over 300 appearances and won every domestic honour during eight remarkable seasons at the Etihad Stadium, it arguably doesn't go far enough. That was the plan, to go to a club, make a big impact and maybe be a legend one day." "I wanted to be something unique," Toure recalled. It wasn't long before Barcelona came knocking, with Toure further enhancing his reputation during a trophy-laden three seasons under Pep Guardiola in Catalonia.Īfter scooping seven major honours, including a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble in the 2008/09 season, Toure took on a new challenge, a quest for legendary status at Manchester City and the rest was history. Image: Yaya Toure was part of the Barcelona team which beat Man Utd in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome ![]() It took me six or seven months, but I do it." Since I arrived there my head just clicked, I knew I needed to adapt. "When I was there, I realised Europe was where I would realise my dream, playing with the best players, winning important trophies, being around the best players. "In the beginning it was tough because of the culture, the food, the acclimatisation - I needed to adapt," Toure added. At that time there were so many boys, seven boys, I started to be dedicated because, for me, the ball was my breathing time."īelgian club Beveren were the first in Europe to spot Toure's talent, signing him as an 18-year-old in 2001, before moves to Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine, Olympiakos in Greece and Monaco in France took the precocious talent across the continent.Īnd it was during these formative years where the midfielder realised he was in the right environment to make his footballing dreams a reality, and that adaptation was needed to achieve his goals. "When I was in Ivory Coast, unfortunately we didn't have any choice because I was one of nine kids. After that, my other brother Kolo started playing and I followed his path. "My oldest brother, he loves football, and he was playing for a team on the street close to the community. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice."I started to love football in Bouake when I was younger," he explained. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. ![]() Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice.
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