Yaya for Touré

Sometimes the evidence is there, but takes a while before we realize the truth. Barcelona’s fine display and complete annihilation of Real Madrid at Bernabéu gave me the correct dimension of Touré Yaya in the blaugrana eleven. The physical, but still elegant and ball carrier man from the Ivory Coast gives Iniesta, Xavi and Dani Alves the green light to attack. Playing as a defensive midfielder, the new ‘Patrick Vieira’ – baptized like this by his brother Kolo Touré – fits in perfectly in the most efficient midfield of 2009. He rarely attacks, but his capable of defining moves in Xavi’s or Iniesta’s bad days. Usually staying in the middle line when the teams attack, he tends to came a little more to the right side, in order to compensate Dani Alves’s offensive style. On the left Abidal his more defensive and helps covering that part of the midfield.
The most powerful force in Barça’s midfield helps Xavi and Iniesta to support the constant punishment from other teams. Built in schools of Ivory’s Coast ASEC, he played a season in Mimosas and then came to Europe, Beveren (Belgium), Metalurg Donetsk (Ukraine), Monaco (France) and Barcelona since 2007 are all in the CV of Yaya. With 1.91m/90kg is also a fundamental stone in Yvory Coast national team.

Tip: the thumbs up to Yaya Touré came because of his humble character inside the field. He accepts the mission of shadow-man in the most impressive offensive team of the year and seems pretty happy with that. He’s a very talented player that balances up Barça’s football, sometimes seen like the weak point of the midfield. At 26, he’s building up a reputation and his, by now, one of the best defensive midfielder of European football.