Yaya Touré: A blend of FC Barcelona and Manchester City with Slovan Bratislava

Yaya Touré is preparing to embark on his first experience as a head coach when he leads Slovan Bratislava against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening in the opening round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Slovan Bratislava has qualified for the main stage of the tournament after passing through two qualifying rounds and the playoff round, giving Touré a historic opportunity, as he will become the first African coach to lead a team in the UEFA Champions League.

Serge Costa, assistant to Touré at Slovan Bratislava, spoke to RMC Sport about the Ivorian coach's philosophy, confirming that their collaboration goes back around four years, since they met during a UEFA event when Touré was undergoing his coaching training.

Costa stated that Touré has a "very strong instinct" gained from his years as a player, noting that he chose the Slovan Bratislava project after seeing the potential to implement his technical ideas in the way he wants.

Costa explained that Touré's philosophy relies heavily on possession play and positioning, influenced by his previous experiences with FC Barcelona and Manchester City.

He said: "In positional play, he is very strong, because he has naturally been influenced by FC Barcelona. Whether we like it or not, what he experienced at Barcelona was with one of the best Barcelonas in its history, and so he has repurposed many of the ideas he experienced there, or has further developed them."

He added that Touré's experience at FC Barcelona formed the foundation upon which he built his playing model, before his ideas evolved during his years with Manchester City, where he played under Pep Guardiola.

Slovan Bratislava's identity under Touré appears to be a blend of positional play and possession inspired by FC Barcelona, along with ideas gained from his long experience at Manchester City, as he faces his first major test against Paris Saint-Germain.