Incoming coach outlines his philosophy to Slovan Bratislava podcast
Globetrotting Manchester City and Barcelona legend Yaya Touré has just landed his first post as head coach, taking over at record and recent Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava. Speaking on the club podcast, the Ivorian opened up about the style of play he was looking to introduce, his chosen assistants and how his experiences as a player might shape his progress as a coach.
“I don’t think I’ll have a problem adapting,” he told Slovan fans on Na Tehelnom poli. “Wherever I go, I’m try to learn as much as possible, about the people, the culture, the environment. One day I hope to be able to speak to the players and the fans in their own language.”
In terms of his immediate colleagues, Yaya should have few linguistic problems, having selected former Celtic reserve and youth team coach Darren O’Dea, and Serge Costa, who has worked as assistant coach at top clubs in France and at Standard Liège, Yaya’s most recent posting.
“We’ve been in touch for quite a while,” says Yaya. We often used to see games together – particularly we’d go to Paris Saint-Germain, and pick up on what’s been happening there.”
“They also don’t sleep, like me,” he joked, saying that he had texted O’Dea with a certain query at 1am, only to get a reply back immediately. Leaving his wife and children in London – the nearest this four-time African Football of the Year calls home – Yaya wants to give the Slovan job full focus, “to repay the trust the CEO has placed in me”.
Oldest son of multifaceted entrepreneur Ivan Kmotrík, who acquired the club around 2009, the namesake Slovan chairman was forced to replace Vladimír Weiss after the outgoing coach took the national job in Slovakia. Weiss leaves behind an impressive record of winning six straight domestic titles, making the league phase of the Champions League in 2024-25.
“I like my players to have personality,” admits Yaya, speaking of “intense training sessions” at a pre-season training camp in Austria. “If they face a high level of intensity from opponents in Europe, they need to have the tools to respond.” Over the next few days, Slovan take on Grazer AK, Red Star Belgrade and Puskás Akadémia, specifically chosen as the kinds of teams the Slovaks will have to overcome in the vital qualifying stages of the Champions League.
In terms of formation, Yaya is a 4-3-3 man but is “ready to adapt if need be”. This is, after all, a midfielder who played centre-back in Barcelona’s 2009 Champions League win over Manchester United.
He is also happy for his players to shoot from distance – naming Armenian international Tigran Barseghyan and recently capped young Slovak Artur Gajdoš as potential marksmen if opponents are defending deep.
Although he played under the likes of Pep Guardiola and Roberto Mancini at Barcelona and Manchester City, Yaya credits silverware-laden Portuguese manager Pedro Martins at Olympiacos as being the one who suggested he might go into coaching. “I tried Director of Sports but it wasn’t for me,” he now admits. “I like the smell of the grass.”
When asked to list the former teammates he would select on his ideal teamsheet, Yaya named Messi straight away, then reached for fellow Barça men from the golden era – Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol – but also suggested Vincent Kompany and Didier Drogba.
Captaining his country to their Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2015 he considers his greatest achievement, setting aside Manchester City’s dramatic Premier League win of 2012.
Yaya does have one abiding memory, though, one featuring Mario Balotelli: “We were all at pre-season training in Manchester and on the first day, Balotelli arrives in a white Bentley. A beautiful car, pristine. The next week, he shows up with the same car, except that he had painted it completely khaki, in military colours. We couldn’t believe it. When we asked him why he’d done it, he said, ‘This is a fashion car’”.
