A former Ivory Coast international, Yaya Toure, has made history. He is the first African coach to lead a club into the UEFA Champions League league phase.
Toure achieved this landmark with Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava. They secured their spot after beating Slovenian team NK Celje 2-1 in extra time in their final qualifying match on Wednesday.
This win gave Slovan a 3-2 aggregate victory. Now, they are among the 36 clubs in this season’s Champions League league phase.
This achievement is impressive because the 43-year-old is in his first senior coaching role. Toure was appointed as Slovan’s head coach in June. He quickly made an impact by guiding the club through three qualifying rounds to reach Europe’s top competition.
Slovan started their qualifying journey against Saburtalo from Georgia. They then beat Mjallby from Sweden before facing Celje in the last play-off round. Cristian Martinez scored in the 100th minute, giving Toure’s team the crucial edge they needed to advance.
Toure’s success goes beyond the previous milestone set by Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo. Egbo led Albanian club KF Tirana into the Champions League qualifying rounds in 2020 but did not make it to the main event.
Toure, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009, is now set to face some of the biggest clubs in Europe as a coach. Slovan’s first challenge in the league phase is tough. They will visit the reigning champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on Wednesday.
PSG aims for their third straight Champions League title after winning the competition in 2025 and 2026. For Toure, this match marks a quick return to the tournament he conquered as a player. This time, he will be on the sidelines as a trailblazing African coach.
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