Yaya Touré

Infobox Football biography
playername = Touré Yaya


fullname = Gnegneri Yaya Touré
nickname = Touré Yaya
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1983|5|13
cityofbirth = Bouake
countryofbirth = Ivory Coast
height = height|m=1.91
currentclub = FC Barcelona
clubnumber = 24
position = Defensive midfielder / Centre midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2000-2001 2001–2003 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007
2007–
clubs = ASEC Abidjan Beveren Metalurh Donetsk Olympiakos AS Monaco
FC Barcelona
caps(goals) = 00 (0) 70 (3) 33 (3) 19 (3)
27 (5) 25 (2) [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=69277&cc=5901 ESPN] ]
nationalyears = 2004–
nationalteam = Ivory Coast
nationalcaps(goals) = 25 (3)
pcupdate = 20 November 2007
ntupdate = 22 August 2008

Gnegneri Yaya Touré also spelled Yahya Touré or Touré Yaya (born 13 May 1983 in Bouake, Ivory Coast), is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona. He has 21 caps for the Ivory Coast.

Touré, a midfielder, is the younger brother of Arsenal defender Kolo Touré. They have a younger brother Ibrahim Touré, who plays for Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine.

Club career

Early career

Touré was born in Bouake in the Ivory Coast.

Touré joined ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick Van Reijendam. He then went to Europe, where he played two and a half years in KSK Beveren (Belgium) and one a half years at FC Metalurh Donetsk (Ukraine).

Olympiakos

Touré moved to Olympiakos in 2005. He was nicknamed "the new Patrick Vieira" by his brother Kolo. Ahead of the 2005/2006 Premiership season he spent a period during pre-season on trial at Arsenal, but failed to seal a permanent move. He was also selected by Eurosport in 2005 as one of the most promising young players worldwide (Javier Mascherano and Sergio Agüero were included in the list as well).

Monaco

Olympiakos decided to accept a mere €4.5m from French Ligue 1 side A.S. Monaco as a result of his refusal to return to Greece for the team's pre-season training. Touré accused Olympiacos of not paying his due salaries, while Olympiacos accused him of lying in order to get transferred.Fact|date=October 2007 On August 15 2006 Touré completed his move to Monaco.

Barcelona

On 26 June, 2007, Spanish La Liga club Barcelona announced the signing of Touré for a fee of €9m. At his official presentation with club president Joan Laporta and director of football Txiki Beguiristáin, Touré was originally given the number 17 shirt. However, Touré now wears the number 24 shirt for Barça which was vacated by Andrés Iniesta. Toure has hinted that a move to partner his brother Kolo Touré at Arsenal F.C would be ideal, but is happy at the Nou Camp.

Touré made his debut for the club on August 26 2007 during the league opener at Racing Santander. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=226601&cc=5901 Soccernet match report] "soccernet.com", August 26, 2007, accessed January 24, 2008]

At the Joan Gamper Trophy 2007 match against Internazionale, he scored his first goal for Barcelona. Then he scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on 2 September, 2007, despite speculation that the ball did not cross the goal line.Fact|date=October 2007

He scored his first Champions League goal for Barca against Schalke 04 in the quarterfinals. This goal proved to be the winner and advanced Barcelona into a semifinal match-up against Manchester United, which they subsequently lost 1-0 over two legs.

All-Time Club Statistics

As of August 30 2008 [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=69277&cc=5901 Soccernet player statistics] ]

References

External links

*lfpfr|114076
* [http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=337170 Goal.com profile]
* [http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/futbol/temporada_07-08/plantilla/jugadors/toure_yaya.html FC Barcelona official site profile]

Persondata
NAME= Touré, Gnegneri Yaya
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Touré, Yaya; Yahya Toure
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1983-05-13
PLACE OF BIRTH= Sokoura Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=Slumz