vory Coast legend Yaya Touré has made history by becoming the first African coach to lead a team into the UEFA Champions League league phase. Touré guided Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava past Slovenian side NK Celje, securing a dramatic 2-1 victory after extra time on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 aggregate triumph. The achievement comes in Touré’s first senior managerial role, less than two months after he took charge of Slovan Bratislava. The former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder has now guided the club through three qualifying rounds and into European football’s elite competition. ALSO READ:Kagame congratulates PSG on reaching Champions League final Touré’s achievement surpasses the previous milestone set by Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo, who guided FK Tirana through Champions League qualifying in 2020 but fell short of reaching the league phase. As a player, Touré also reached the highest levels of African and European football. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Côte d’Ivoire in 2015 and lifted the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in 2009. Following the league-phase draw, Slovan Bratislava discovered a challenging group of opponents for their historic Champions League campaign. Touré’s side will face Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Betis, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart, AS Roma, Lille, and LASK.
