PSG-Slovan: Yaya Touré Makes Champions League History

UEFA confirmed this historic milestone to AFP on the eve of the match. Paris Saint-Germain also highlighted it in their match preview, which will kick off the European campaign of the reigning double champions against the Slovak club.

At 43 years old, Yaya Touré approaches this event as a step beyond his personal journey. On Tuesday, at a press conference in Paris, the former Elephants captain spoke of “a new era” for African coaches, after having led Slovan to the group stage in his very first experience as a head coach..

The Ivorian coach had already achieved a historic feat at the end of August by qualifying Slovan Bratislava for this group stage. The Slovak champions eliminated Celje in the playoffs after advancing through several qualifying rounds, thus returning to the Champions League for only the second time in their history.

The challenge awaiting him on Wednesday is significant. PSG comes into the match unbeaten in eleven European games and has lost only one of its last ten continental home matches, according to UEFA. However, Slovan arrives with a run of seven unbeaten European matches this season, including five wins and two draws.

The fixture also holds a personal dimension for Luis Enrique. The Paris coach explained on Tuesday that he knows Yaya Touré well from their time at FC Barcelona, when the Ivorian played with the first team and the Spaniard managed the Catalan reserve side.

A former Champions League winner as a player with Barcelona in 2009, Yaya Touré is now set to write a new chapter in his European journey, this time from the sidelines. The kickoff of PSG-Slovan Bratislava is scheduled for 21h at the Parc des Princes.