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15 Things You Didn’t Know About Ivorian Footballer Kolo Touré

15 Things You Didn’t Know About Ivorian Footballer Kolo Touré

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Ivorian footballer Kolo Touré is one of the most well-respected central defenders to have come from Africa. He currently plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, having made his name in the EPL playing for both Manchester City and Arsenal at the highest level.

Here are 15 things you didn’t know about Ivorian footballer Kolo Touré.

Sources: ESPNFC.com, Football.co.uk, NigeriaFilms.com, StandardMedia.co.ke, AfricaTopSports.com, FamousBirthdays.com, ArticleBio.com, LiverpoolFC.com, IrishTimes.com, BBC.com, DailyMail, Sport24, Twitter, ManchesterEveningNews.

This is an updated version of a slideshow that was originally published Nov. 10, 2014. Peter Pedroncelli contributed to this report.

Kolo Toure
Kolo Toure – koraplatform.com

Touré has played in seven AFCON tournaments

Yaya Touré’s older brother has been part of an incredible seven Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments as a defender for the national team, reaching the final on three occasions. The 34-year-old managed to take part in the competition in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

Kolo Toure - Cote D'Ivoire
Kolo Toure – Cote D’Ivoire – Dailypost.ng

Touré represented the Elephants 118 times

Touré is the second-most capped player in Ivorian national team history after Didier Zokora’s 123 caps, having recorded 118 appearances during his long career with the West African nation. The defensive pillar represented his country at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments, in addition to the seven Nations Cups he experienced as a key part of the squad.

Kolo Toure
Kolo Toure – dailypost.co.uk

Touré enjoys a great Twitter following

The Ivorian legend is a popular figure on social media, with his Twitter handle followed by over 204,000 followers. The defender has been on Twitter since December 2012, but he only follows 61 people on the platform, while using the social media site to communicate with his fans and footballing peers. His handle is @kolokolotoure28.

Cote D'Ivoire Afcon Winners
Cote D’Ivoire Afcon Winners – imatin.net

Touré won the 2015 AFCON

The Elephants finally put their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) demons to rest after defeating Ghana 9-8 in a tense penalty shootout, taking home the title that has eluded the famed golden generation for so long. Touré’s final act as an Ivorian player with the national team was to successfully despatch his penalty during the shootout, playing his part in helping the Elephants to their second ever AFCON title and the first of this particular generation.

en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org

He retired from international football in 2015

Cote D’Ivoire lost the services of the long time servant and experienced defender following the Liverpool player’s decision to retire from the Ivorian national team after their 2015 Nations Cup victory in Equatorial Guinea in February. Following his debut for Cote D’Ivoire in 2000, Touré became an important element of a very strong national team that travelled to two FIFA World Cup’s with great expectations on their shoulders.

365DM.com
365DM.com

As a child, he sold newspapers and cleaned shoes to earn money for his family

Touré’s family wasn’t wealthy when he was growing up, and he sold newspapers on the side of the road and cleaned people’s shoes to help his family. Family continues to play an important role in his life, and he has not stopped taking care of them – he sends money home on a regular basis. “As an African, you need to take care of a lot of people,” he said. “Our family, our whole village, is really proud of what me and my brother have achieved in football. People who have known me since before I became a footballer know I deserve what I have because I’ve worked so hard in my life.”

Source: DailyMail.co.uk

BCBN.org.uk
BCBN.org.uk

He continues to play while fasting during the month of Ramadan

A devout Muslim, Touré often prays in locker rooms and before practice and games. During Ramadan, he continues to follow his faith and fasts throughout the day, despite the fact that it is mid season. In a 2011 interview, Touré said, “It doesn’t affect me physically. It makes me stronger. You can do it when you believe so strongly in something.”

Source: Dadyal.pk

Mirror.co.uk
Mirror.co.uk

He was the first Ivorian to ever sign with Arsenal

On Feb. 14, 2002, Touré became the first Ivorian player ever to sign with Arsenal. The fee was £150,000 ($238,544). The signing came after Touré accidentally tackled Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in a training trial, and Wenger decided to offer the Ivorian a contract. Touré also became Arsenals’ longest-serving player, playing with the Gunners from 2002 to 2009, before signing with Manchester City.

SideTackle.com
SideTackle.com

Touré left Arsenal after a reputed bust-up with his defensive partner, William Gallas

Following a blazing row between the two defenders in December 2008, Touré handed in a transfer request to leave Arsenal. He believed Gallas had been mouthing off to manager Arsene Wenger about how the two couldn’t play together, and that Wenger was listening to him. The transfer request was initially denied, and Touré stayed with Arsenal until summer 2009.

Independent.co.uk
Independent.co.uk

Touré and wife, Chimene Akkassou, wed after nine years together and two children

Touré and Chimene Akkassou tied the knot in June 2012 after being together for nine years and having two children, Sania and Yiassin. The ceremony, which took place at a mosque in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, was star studded with plenty of Touré’s high-profile footballer teammates, friends, and family.

Express.co.uk
Express.co.uk

He was suspended in 2011 after failing a drug test

After struggling with his weight for some time, in 2011 Touré started taking water tablets — the same ones his wife was taking to lose weight. He had cleared the pills at a clinic, as well as with a doctor at Manchester City and was told they were OK, but none of the health professionals allegedly looked closely enough at the medicine to be sure. The pills contained banned ingredients that showed up in a routine drug test, and Touré received a six-month ban from playing.

Independent.co.uk
Independent.co.uk

Touré was eager to leave Manchester City for Liverpool due to ongoing disagreements with his manager, Robert Mancini

Touré never had a positive relationship with Manchester City manager, Robert Mancini, demonstrated by the fact that Mancini took away the captain’s armband from Touré at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season to give it to Carlos Tevez. In an interview, Touré said it was difficult to work with Mancini, and that he disagreed with many of Mancini’s roster decisions. “I wouldn’t have minded being on the bench if I thought the players in front of me were better,” he said, “but I didn’t. He brought in Stefan Savic and Matija Nastasic and I was left behind. It was so difficult.”

Source: DailyMail.co.uk

Independent.co.uk
Independent.co.uk

He initially rejected call-ups from the Côte d’Ivoire national team in 2013

In early 2013, Côte d’Ivoire’s Les Élélphants tried to call up Touré to play in several World Cup qualifiers. However, Touré felt that he was not ready, and needed more regular game time with his club first. He had recently made the move to Liverpool from Manchester City, where he wasn’t getting a lot of playing time. In an interview, he said, “When I was not playing they were talking but I knew what I was doing, I knew my qualities. I had to work, play and then go and help my national team. I hope my national team will go to the World Cup, which will be very important.”

Source: ESPNFC.com

Soomaalidamaanta.com
Soomaalidamaanta.com

Touré made the 2014 World Cup squad despite having malaria

After a trip home to visit family, Touré contracted malaria in 2014, prior to the World Cup. Despite this, he made the roster for Brazil, as the medical team knew what had to be done to get him fit for the tournament.

Independent.co.uk
Independent.co.uk

His youngest brother, Ibrahim, died during the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Ibrahim Touré, the youngest brother of the Touré football trio, died at age 28 following a battle with cancer. Kolo and Yaya were in Brazil representing the Côte d’Ivoire national team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and learned of his death just hours after falling to Colombia 2-1 in the group stages of the tournament.