Former Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure has achieved a historic milestone after becoming the first African coach to guide a club into the UEFA Champions League league phase.
Toure accomplished the feat with Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava, who earned qualification after defeating Slovenian outfit NK Celje 2-1 after extra time in the second leg of their final qualifying-round clash on Wednesday.
The result secured a 3-2 aggregate victory for Slovan and confirmed their place among the 36 teams competing in this season’s Champions League league phase.
The achievement is even more remarkable given that the 43-year-old is taking charge of a senior team for the first time in his managerial career.
Toure was named Slovan’s head coach in June and has already made a significant impression, leading the club through three qualifying rounds to secure a place in Europe’s premier club competition.
Slovan opened their qualifying campaign against Georgia’s Saburtalo before eliminating Sweden’s Mjallby and subsequently overcoming Celje in the final play-off round.
Cristian Martinez scored the crucial goal in the 100th minute, giving Toure’s team the lead they needed to secure their passage into the league phase.
Toure has now gone beyond the previous achievement of Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo, who guided Albanian club KF Tirana through the Champions League qualifying rounds in 2020 but failed to reach the main competition.
The former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder, who lifted the Champions League trophy with Barcelona in 2009, will now experience the competition from the technical area against some of Europe’s top sides.
Slovan’s opening league-phase fixture presents a major challenge, as the Slovak champions are scheduled to travel to France to face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
PSG are aiming for a third successive Champions League crown after claiming the title in 2025 and 2026.
For Toure, the encounter represents a return to the tournament he once won as a player, only this time he will experience it from the touchline as an African coach making history.
