Recent reports have suggested that brother Yaya and Kolo Toure will be joining forces and playing for Manchester City next season are apparently more than just rumours – they are a reality. Last week news broke that The Blues had inked Yaya Toure to a £28 million deal – making him the most expensive holding midfielder in English football history. He would link up with his brother Kolo Toure, who joined Manchester City after leaving Arsenal in 2009.
For fans watching the performance of the Ivory Coast in the 2010 World Cup, the signing of Yaya Toure by Manchester City – especially for such a large sum of money – might seem luxurious, extravagant or just plain outrageous. After all, it’s not like the Ivory Coast have been tearing through their Group G opposition – with just one point in their first two matches in the so-called “Group of Death”, they’ll need an historic thrashing of North Korea in their final match (or an epic collapse by Portugal) to avoid a first-round exit.
However, most of the team’s problems in this tournament did not come as a result of either of the Toure brothers. Rather, the team’s problems against Portugal and Brazil stemmed from an inconsistent and sometimes anaemic offensive attack coupled with difficultly containing Brazil on the wide flanks have led them to the brink of elimination. In fact, the Toure brothers frequently have been the rare beacons of light in an otherwise dreary campaign for the Ivory Coast.
So what does Yaya Toure bring to the table for Manchester City? Despite sitting on the bench for most of this past season, he is still considered to be one of the best holding midfielders in the game. Most people felt that he was on the short end of football politics when he was benched in favour of Sergio Busquets last season – Toure’s only fault was not being Spanish (and not having a father who played at Barcelona with the team’s current coach).
Yaya Toure is not your typical holding midfielder; he is also capable of bringing a flair for the dramatic to the game. He likes going on fanciful runs that have produced some spectacular goals during his career. However, this wanderlust is also one reason that Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola publicly mentioned when benching him in favour of Busquets.
But Yaya Toure is also very versatile. He became the first player from the Ivory Coast to win a Champions League title in June 2009 after having dropped back from his natural holding midfield role to play central defence against Manchester United in the finals after injuries knocked out Dani Alves, Sylvinho and Rafael Marquez.
There can be little questioning the ability of Yaya and Kolo Toure to produce when paired together. Like many other sets of brothers in football history, they appear to have an almost innate sense of connection to each other on the pitch, knowing exactly where the other one will be without having to actually see them. This is especially important for the Toure brothers, as they play positions (central defense and holding midfielder) that rely on seamless interaction between the two players.
Yaya Toure will be making a return to English football in a sense – he was given a try-out with Arsenal in 2003 but was rejected by Arsene Wenger because he wasn’t quick enough. Then again, Wenger also had Yaya Toure play at forward for some unknown reason. Both Yaya and Kolo Toure are smart, aggressive and spirited players who should be part of the attempted turnaround at the City of Manchester Stadium following a very disappointing campaign last season.
Recent reports have suggested that brother Yaya and Kolo Toure will be joining forces and playing for Manchester City next season are apparently more than just rumours – they are a reality. Last week news broke that The Blues had inked Yaya Toure to a £28 million deal – making him the most expensive holding midfielder in English football history. He would link up with his brother Kolo Toure, who joined Manchester City after leaving Arsenal in 2009.
For fans watching the performance of the Ivory Coast in the 2010 World Cup, the signing of Yaya Toure by Manchester City – especially for such a large sum of money – might seem luxurious, extravagant or just plain outrageous. After all, it’s not like the Ivory Coast have been tearing through their Group G opposition – with just one point in their first two matches in the so-called “Group of Death”, they’ll need an historic thrashing of North Korea in their final match (or an epic collapse by Portugal) to avoid a first-round exit.
However, most of the team’s problems in this tournament did not come as a result of either of the Toure brothers. Rather, the team’s problems against Portugal and Brazil stemmed from an inconsistent and sometimes anaemic offensive attack coupled with difficultly containing Brazil on the wide flanks have led them to the brink of elimination. In fact, the Toure brothers frequently have been the rare beacons of light in an otherwise dreary campaign for the Ivory Coast.
So what does Yaya Toure bring to the table for Manchester City? Despite sitting on the bench for most of this past season, he is still considered to be one of the best holding midfielders in the game. Most people felt that he was on the short end of football politics when he was benched in favour of Sergio Busquets last season – Toure’s only fault was not being Spanish (and not having a father who played at Barcelona with the team’s current coach).
Yaya Toure is not your typical holding midfielder; he is also capable of bringing a flair for the dramatic to the game. He likes going on fanciful runs that have produced some spectacular goals during his career. However, this wanderlust is also one reason that Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola publicly mentioned when benching him in favour of Busquets.
But Yaya Toure is also very versatile. He became the first player from the Ivory Coast to win a Champions League title in June 2009 after having dropped back from his natural holding midfield role to play central defence against Manchester United in the finals after injuries knocked out Dani Alves, Sylvinho and Rafael Marquez.
There can be little questioning the ability of Yaya and Kolo Toure to produce when paired together. Like many other sets of brothers in football history, they appear to have an almost innate sense of connection to each other on the pitch, knowing exactly where the other one will be without having to actually see them. This is especially important for the Toure brothers, as they play positions (central defense and holding midfielder) that rely on seamless interaction between the two players.
Yaya Toure will be making a return to English football in a sense – he was given a try-out with Arsenal in 2003 but was rejected by Arsene Wenger because he wasn’t quick enough. Then again, Wenger also had Yaya Toure play at forward for some unknown reason. Both Yaya and Kolo Toure are smart, aggressive and spirited players who should be part of the attempted turnaround at the City of Manchester Stadium following a very disappointing campaign last season.