Yaya Toure Makes Champions League History As First African Coach To Reach League Phase

Former Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure has made history after becoming the first African coach to guide a club into the UEFA Champions League league phase.

Toure achieved the feat with Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava, who defeated Slovenian side NK Celje 2-1 after extra time in the second leg of their final qualifying tie on Wednesday.

The victory secured a 3-2 aggregate win for Slovan and booked their place among the 36 clubs in this season’s Champions League league phase.

The milestone is particularly significant for Toure, who is only in his first senior managerial role. The 43-year-old was appointed Slovan head coach in June and has quickly made an impact at the club.

He guided the Slovak champions through three qualifying rounds, starting with a victory over Georgia’s Saburtalo before they eliminated Sweden’s Mjallby and then Celje in the final play-off round.

Cristian Martinez scored the decisive goal in the 100th minute to give Slovan the advantage and send Toure’s team into the league phase.

Toure’s achievement surpasses the previous milestone set by Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo, who led Albanian club KF Tirana into the Champions League qualifying rounds in 2020 but failed to reach the main competition.

The former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and will now return to Europe’s elite competition in a different role.

This time, Toure will experience the Champions League from the touchline as a coach, with Slovan set to face some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the league phase.

Slovan’s first assignment will be a difficult trip to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.