Ex-Man City star
©IMAGO
Ex-Man City star Yaya Touré will be on the sidelines as a head coach in professional football for the first time next season. The 43-year-old, most recently assistant to Roberto Mancini in Saudi Arabia from November 2023 to October 2024, signed a three-year contract with Slovan Bratislava.
Touré is taking on a difficult legacy with the record champions. Predecessor Vladimír Weiss, who took over the Slovakian national team, won six titles in a row in the Niké League. “It was of course clear to me from the start that it would not be easy to replace coach Weiss,” explained managing director Ivan Kmotrik. But Touré made an excellent impression on the first video call. “This first impression was so strong that it was very difficult for other candidates to surpass him. I immediately noticed that we were on the same wavelength and had a similar attitude on how to be successful. Yaya has great ambition and the motivation to be successful as a coach at Slovan Bratislava.”
Touré, who is also competing in the Champions League qualification with Slovan, added: “I’m very happy and full of anticipation. To be honest, I can’t wait to get to work with you on Monday. My predecessor deserves a lot of respect for what he achieved with Slovan. I want to build on that and at the same time bring something new and unique from myself. Football means everything to me. I love challenges and I’m incredibly looking forward to joining a great club with a rich history, a beautiful one Stadium and high ambitions (…) With Slovan I want to play dominant football, win games and control the games so that we can inspire our fans.”