Kolo Touré

At 43 years old, Kolo Touré has this physical status:

Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian football coach and former footballer.

He played for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic, Celtic, and the Ivory Coast national team.

He is currently a first team coach at Leicester City as well as a member of the Ivory Coast's coaching staff. Touré began his ASEC Mimosas career in 2002, where he made 326 appearances for the club and was a member of the 03-04 'invincibles' team.

He moved to Manchester City in 2009, where he was joined by his younger brother, Yaya Touré, a year later, helping the city win its first league title in 44 years.

Touré was relocated to Liverpool in 2013.

He is one of the top eight players to win the Premier League with two clubs, having won it with Manchester City and Arsenal.

He has also won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup with Celtic. Touré is the second-most capped player on the Ivory Coast, with 120 appearances from 2000 to 2015.

He appeared on the team in 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Touré has also appeared in seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments between 2002 and 2015, helping them finish runners-up in 2006 and 2012, and winning in 2015.

Personal life

He is Ibrahim Touré's older brother and Yaya Touré. Ibrahim died of cancer at the age of 28 in 2014. Belinda, they have a sister.

Touré is a Muslim who observes fasting during Ramadan's Islamic month, and he says, "It doesn't affect me physically." It makes me more able. You should do it if you believe so strongly in something. A normal human will be without water for much longer than one day."

Touré is married to Awo. They had a son and a daughter as of 2011, and they had a son and a daughter. Yassine's son, who joined a two-year scholarship with Leicester City in December 2021, is also interested in football.

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Club career

After a brief hearing, Touré, born in Bouaké, joined Arsenal from ASEC Mimosas in a long-term contract for £150,000.

Touré was able to obtain a British work permit thanks to his status as a full international. Touré did not make his first appearance for the first team until next season, against Liverpool in the FA Community Shield in August 2002. He began his Arsenal career as a defensive midfielder as well as a right-back. In a 1–1 draw against Chelsea, he scored his first Arsenal goal at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal struggled to win the Premiership this season, but Touré made a big leap in his career by winning the FA Cup as an unemployed substitute in the final.

Wenger began using Touré as a central defender alongside Sol Campbell at the start of the 2003-04 season. He formed an effective partnership with Campbell and had an excellent season in which Arsenal were undefeated in the league, winning the trophy for the first time. He marketed himself as an attacking defender but had only scored one goal and had one assist, having previously been a striker or attacking midfielder.

Touré was in and out of the Arsenal squad during the 2004-05 season, looking for his first team spot with Philippe Senderos and Pascal Cygan to play alongside Sol Campbell in defense. Touré finished the season with a FA Cup champions medalist who appeared 50 times for Arsenal during the season and one goal. In the 90th minute of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League last 16 round tie against Bayern Munich of Germany, he scored his first goal of the 2004-05 season. Arsenal lost the game 3–1.

Touré played a permanent fixture in the Arsenal team from the start of XI. He formed a fruitful defensive team with Senderos in the 2005–06 season. Both center-backs helped the Arsenal team advance to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final after collecting ten straight clean sheets (a European competition record).

Touré scored his second European goal on April 19, 2006, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Villarreal CF. It was the last European goal scored at Highbury and the goal that effectively ended the tie (Arsenal won 1–0 on aggregate) and sent Arsenal into the first ever Champions League Final in Paris, France.

Touré was given the number 5 shirt for the 2006–07 season, which had been unoccupied since Martin Keown's departure. Touré signed a new four-year contract with Arsenal in August 2006.

After former vice captain Gilberto Silva and former captain Thierry Henry, Touré was the junior vice-captain in the 2006–07 season. He captained Arsenal for the first time on Monday, the first time in the League Cup, when defeating Liverpool 6–3. He also captained the Gunners in the semi-finals against Tottenham Hotspur, who was also responsible for their departure from this tournament. Following Jérémie Aliadiere's, Thierry Henry, and Freddie Ljungberg's departures during the summer transfer window in 2007, he became Arsenal's longest-serving player. After captain William Gallas was ill in the match against Blackburn Rovers, he captained Arsenal in a string of games early in the 2007-08 season. In a match against Bolton Wanderers, where his aim was poor and went under two Bolton players, and beat Jussi Jääskeläinen, he scored a free kick. Nevertheless, he sustained an injury and looked a little out of place when he returned and then hurt himself against A.C. Milan when blocking Alexandre Pato's shot with his leg and was carried off the pitch after recovery. Touré returned to the starting lineup against Middlesbrough on March 15th, scoring the equalizing goal for Arsenal in the final ten minutes.

After a infamous bust-up with defensive partner Gallas on April 13, 2009, Touré demanded a transfer away from Arsenal. He is said to have made a transfer request that was later turned down by Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood. However, Touré's decision was temporarily reversed and signed to the Gunners at least until the summer.

Manchester City had agreed a £14 million contract for Touré, despite a lot of transfer rumors. Touré completed a medical in Manchester on July 29, 2009, and the club's offer of extending it to five years was a success. City, who had finished 10th in the previous season, had made a number of high-profile signings in preparation for the 2009–10 season, and Touré was hoping to help make City a top-four team. Mark Hughes had been named team captain by Mark Hughes. In a 2–1 League Cup victory over Fulham on September 23, 2009, he scored his first goal for Manchester City. On September 7, 2009, he scored his first league goal for City against Burnley. Manchester City finished the season in fifth place, losing by only three points to Tottenham Hotspur. Following a sale thought to be worth about £24 million, Kolo Touré and his brother Yaya were joined at Manchester City on July 2nd.

Roberto Mancini withdrew the captain's armband from Touré and gave it to Carlos Tevez at the start of the 2010–11 season. However, he was still a member of Mancini's schemes and was a first team regular in defence. In Manchester City's 2–1 loss to Everton on December 20, 2010, he was sent off, denying the city a chance to top the Premier League table on Christmas. Touré scored the first goal in the Citizens' 4–3 victory on January 15, taking them to the top of the standings table.

Touré had failed a drug test and had been suspended on March 3rd, 2011. Effective 2 March 2011, the World Anti-Doping Agency imposed a 6-month suspension from football.

Touré was used as a squad player in the 2011–12 season, winning 14 league appearances as Manchester City claimed a league championship for the first time in 44 years.

Liverpool revealed on May 28th that an agreement had been reached in principle to sign Touré on a free transfer from Manchester City. He was announced as Liverpool's first signing of the window on July 2nd and was given the number 4 shirt. He has been with him for two years. He made his Liverpool debut on July 13, 2013, beating Preston North End 4–0 in a preseason friendly. In a 1–0 victory over Stoke City at Anfield on August 17, he made his Premier League debut for Liverpool. Victor Anichebe, who scored an equalizer in a match against West Bromwich Albion on 2 February 2014, made a costly mistake by handing the ball straight to Victor Anichebe. In a match against Fulham that eventually won due to a late penalty from skipper Steven Gerrard, on February 12, 2014, he scored an own-goal.

He came on as an 83rd-minute replacement against Manchester City on March 1, the first time he and his brother Yaya, who started the game for City, face each other in a friendly match.

Touré scored his first Liverpool goal on February 14, 2016, kicking in Jordan Henderson's corner kick to beat Aston Villa, who were already winless. It was his first match since January 2011, and he ate a lot.

Touré was officially unveiled in the 2015–16 season.

When he joined Celtic on a one-year deal on July 24, he revived with former manager Brendan Rodgers. He made his debut on August 3, 2016, against FC Astana in the second half of Celtic's 2–1 victory over them in a Champions League qualifier. As Celtic finished an unbeaten domestic season, he made 20 appearances, winning a treble of League, Cup, and League Cup. At the end of the 2016/17 season, Touré was not offered a new playing contract.

Touré resigned in September 2017 and took up teaching with Celtic.

International career

In April 2000, Touré made his Ivory Coast debut against Rwanda. In all five games for the Ivory Coast, he finished runners up to the hosts in the African Cup of Nations in Egypt in January 2006.

He was named in the Henri Michel's 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, making his first appearance in a FIFA World Cup on June 11, 2006, Argentina's 2–1 loss to Argentina. He has scored three goals for the Ivory Coast to date, two of which were headers against Guinea and Gabon against Japan, as well as a 20-yard shot from outside the penalty area that shot into the top corner of the goal.

Touré was selected for the Ivory Coast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and he was the captain of the team's first game against Portugal due to Didier Drogba's injury, which kept him suspended.

After the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Touré declared his intention to retire from international football in December 2014. He played his last game in the tournament's final on February 8, where Ivory Coast defeated Ghana 9-8 on penalties after the game ended 0–0. He scored his seventh goal on the Ivory Coast. He announced his international service on February 15, 2015.

Coaching career

Touré was appointed as a new member of the Ivorian Football Federation's coaching staff for the African Nations Championship and the Under-23 team on August 9, 2017. In September 2017, he joined Celtic's coaching staff as a technical assistant. Brendan Rodgers left Celtic for Leicester City in February 2019, and Touré also joined Leicester as a first team coach.

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