- The Ivory Coast icon Yaya Toure shared insights into how Barcelona managed to stifle Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final.
- In the 2008/09 final, Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0, thanks to scores from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi.
- In the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Manchester United edged past Barcelona with a score of 1-0, owing solely to Paul Scholes' solitary goal.
The AFCON-winning player Yaya Toure has said that the five-time Ballon d'Or recipient Cristiano Ronaldo ranks among the finest athletes he has encountered in the UEFA Champions League.
The player who has won La Liga twice clinched the Champions League with Barcelona during the 2008/09 season prior to his transfer to Manchester City.
The assistant coach from Saudi Arabia expressed his views on facing Ronaldo when he was at the peak of his career.
Toure addresses the frustration with Ronaldo
Yaya Touré disclosed that during the 2008/09 Champions League final, his fellow players needed to devise another plan to contain Cristiano Ronaldo since the strategies suggested by their coach were not sufficient.
In an interview on the Obi One Podcast, the ex-captain of the Ivory Coast revealed that Gerard Piqué sought his counsel on strategies to contain the former Real Madrid player.
The footballer who has won the CAF Player of the Year award four times stated that prior to the finale, the defensive players were nervous. However, they ended up resorting to "targeting" Ronaldo to break his concentration, which was successful according to UEFA reports. He commented as follows:
Making it to the finals was amazing. There were moments when Cristiano Ronaldo would receive the ball and hold onto it. He poses a threat whether he uses his left or right foot.
“Before the match started, during the line-up and handshakes, Pique turned to me and said, ‘Yaya, what can we do?’ Then Puyol jumped in and said, ‘Hey boy, my heart is gone.’ I was already sweating, thinking about how we were going to stop Ronaldo.
Following the handshakes, right before the referee sounded the whistle, Puyol stated, 'Let’s go, this is for real now.' I glanced at Busquests, and we were all focused and ready.
There was a instance where we conceded possession during an offensive play. Ronaldo began sprinting forward, and Pique attempted to bring him down from behind with a sliding challenge. Despite this, Ronaldo pushed through and managed to get off a left-footed shot, which struck the crossbar. We exchanged glances, thinking to ourselves, 'This could be problematic.'
“I told Pique, 'This is our plan: if he makes it through, I'll tackle him. You guard the opposite side.' Additionally, I instructed Busquets to contest him aerially, and I would stay close to him as he moved with the ball.”
That's how we succeeded in managing him. We developed the strategy all by ourselves, right on the field.
Audience Responds to Toure's Remarks About Confining Ronaldo
Fans of Manchester United have applauded how Barcelona successfully thwarted Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League final.
One X user pointed out that Yaya Touré’s plan came from his experience playing against Ronaldo at both the international and club levels, while another fan remarked that the Portuguese star was the only standout player on the pitch.
@FareedAbdallah6 wrote:
“Yaya Toure knows him very well because he faced the GOAT in both club and national team matches. Please y’all should watch Drogba reaction after Cristiano’s power shot.”
@UsGarba said:
“You just have to be so great to be on the mind of 4 good players at their prime in the Super Barcelona team; Pique, Puyol, Toure and Busquet all on him.”
@White_Osimehn9 added:
“They will all say the truth when the time comes. I'm still waiting for Pique and Puyol”.
@McmanuelAbefe posited:
“This was why Manchester United lost that game. We had no player to run Messi down like Barca did with Ronaldo.
I recall that game, and I felt frustrated since PARK wasn't playing. Ronaldo was our top performer, but Barcelona had sufficient talent to contain him yet continue with inventive plays.
Toure mentions that Drogba was keen on joining Chelsea
Diwida >.ng earlier reported that Four-time CAF Player of the Year Yaya Toure said that Manchester City were more eager to sign him than Chelsea.
Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure has revealed that his teammate Didier Drogba did everything he could to convince him to join Chelsea after his contract at Barcelona ended.
He added that City made him a top priority and built the team around him.
