Kolo Habib Touré is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Liverpool and the Ivory Coast
national team as a central defender.
He previously played for Manchester City and Arsenal, where he was a member of the famous
'invincibles' side of the 2003–04 season.
He is the elder brother of Manchester City's Yaya Touré and the late Ibrahim Touré, who
died in June 2014.
Club career Arsenal
Born in Bouake, Touré joined Premier League team Arsenal in February 2002 from ASEC Mimosas
for a fee of £150,000 after a short trial.
His status as a full international meant Touré was able to secure a British work permit.
Touré did not make his debut for the first team until the next season, against Liverpool
in the FA Community Shield in August 2002.
Initially regarded as a utility player, he started his Arsenal career as a defensive
midfielder as well as in right back.
He scored his first Arsenal goal at Stamford Bridge in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea.
Arsenal failed to retain the Premiership crown that season, but Touré made a big step in
his career nonetheless, winning the FA Cup as an unused substitute in the final.
At the start of the 2003–04 season, Wenger began using Touré as a central defender alongside
Sol Campbell.
He formed an effective partnership with Campbell and had a great season during which Arsenal
were undefeated in the league, claiming the title.
Having previously been a striker or attacking midfielder, he made a reputation for himself
as being an attacking defender, although he only scored one goal and had one assist.
Touré was in and out of the Arsenal team during the 2004–05 season, battling for
a first team place with the likes of Philippe Senderos and Pascal Cygan to play alongside
Sol Campbell in defence.
Touré ended the season with a FA Cup winners medal playing 50 times for Arsenal that season
and scoring one goal.
His only goal of the 2004–05 season came in the 90th minute of Arsenal's UEFA Champions
League last 16 round tie against Bayern Munich of Germany.
Arsenal lost the game 3–1.
Touré quickly established himself as one of the best centre backs in the Premier League.
He established himself as a permanent fixture in the Arsenal starting XI and as a fan favourite.
In the 2005–06 season, he established a formidable defensive partnership with Senderos.
Both centre backs had immaculate form towards the end of the season, helping the Arsenal
team reach the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final after keeping 10 consecutive clean sheets.
Touré scored his second European goal on 19 April 2006, the winner in the first leg
of the Champions League semi-final against Villarreal CF.
It was the final European goal scored at Highbury and the goal that effectively decided the
tie, to send Arsenal through to their first ever Champions League Final in Paris, France.
Touré was handed the number 5 shirt for the 2006–07 season, which had been vacant since
the departure of Martin Keown.
In August 2006, Touré signed a new four-year deal with Arsenal worth around £70,000 a
week.
Touré was the junior vice-captain in the 2006–07 season after former vice-captain
Gilberto Silva and former captain Thierry Henry.
He captained Arsenal for the first time on 9 January 2007 during a 6–3 victory over
Liverpool in the League Cup.
He also led the Gunners out for the final of this competition, having also captained
them in the semi-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur.
He became the longest-serving member of the current Arsenal squad following the departures
of Jérémie Aliadière, Thierry Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg during the summer transfer
window in 2007.
He also captained Arsenal in a string of games early in the 2007–08 season after captain
William Gallas was injured in the game against Blackburn Rovers.
He scored a free kick in a match against Bolton Wanderers, where his shot was low and went
under two Bolton players and beat Jussi Jääskeläinen.
However, during the Africa Cup of Nations, he suffered an injury and looked a bit out
of place when he returned and then injured himself again in the Champions League against
A.C. Milan when he blocked Alexandre Pato's shot with his leg and was carried off the
pitch after treatment.
Touré returned to the starting lineup against Middlesbrough on 15 March and scored the equalising
goal for Arsenal in the final 10 minutes.
On 13 April 2009, Touré demanded a move away from Arsenal after a reputed bust-up with
defensive partner Gallas.
He reportedly handed in a transfer request which was later turned down by Arsenal chairman
Peter Hill-Wood.
However, Touré temporarily reversed his decision and committed to the Gunners at least until
the summer.
Manchester City
After much transfer speculation, it was announced on 28 July 2009 that Manchester City had agreed
a fee of £14 million for Touré.
After he successfully passed a medical in Manchester on 29 July 2009, Touré signed
a four-year contract with the club which had the option of extending it to five years.
City, who had finished 10th the previous season, had made a number of high-profile signings
in preparation for the 2009–10 season, and Touré hoped to help make City a top four
team.
He was appointed the club captain by Mark Hughes.
He scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2–1 League Cup win over Fulham on 23
September 2009.
He scored his first league goal for City against Burnley on 7 November 2009.
Manchester City finished the season in fifth position losing out to Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
by just three points.
On 2 July 2010, Kolo Touré was joined by his brother Yaya at Manchester City following
a transfer believed to be worth around £24 million.
At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, Roberto Mancini took away the captain's armband
from Touré and gave it to Carlos Tevez.
However, he remained part of Mancini's plans and was a first team regular in defence.
He was sent off in Manchester City's 2–1 defeat to Everton on 20 December 2010, this
denied City the chance to top the Premier League table on Christmas.
On 15 January 2011, Touré scored the first goal in a 4–3 win for the Citizens, that
saw them top the league table.
On 3 March 2011 it was revealed that Touré had failed a drug test and had been suspended.
The World Anti-Doping Agency imposed a 6-month suspension from football effective 2 March
2011.
In the 2011–12 season, Touré was used as a squad player, making 14 league appearances
as Manchester City won a league title for the first time in 44 years.
Liverpool On 28 May 2013, Liverpool announced that an
agreement had been reached in principle to sign Touré on a free transfer from Manchester
City.
On 2 July he was unveiled as Liverpool's first signing of the window and was handed the number
4 shirt.
He signed a two-year contract.
On 13 July 2013, he made his debut for Liverpool in a 4–0 win in a preseason friendly over
Preston North End He made his Premier League debut for Liverpool on 17 August 2013 in a
1-0 victory over Stoke City at Anfield.
On 2 February 2014, in a match against West Bromwich Albion he made a costly mistake,
passing the ball straight to Victor Anichebe, who scored an equaliser.
On 12 February 2014, he scored an own-goal in a match against Fulham, which eventually
Liverpool won thanks to a late penalty from skipper Steven Gerrard.
International career
Touré has played for Ivory Coast since 2000.
His debut was in April 2000 against Rwanda.
He played in all five games for the Ivory Coast as they finished runners up to the hosts
in the African Cup of Nations in Egypt in January 2006.
He was named in the 23-man squad taken by coach Henri Michel to the 2006 FIFA World
Cup and made his first appearance in a FIFA World Cup on 11 June 2006 in the Ivory Coast's
2–1 loss to Argentina.
He has scored three goals for the Ivory Coast to date, two of them headers against Gabon
and Tajikistan and one against Japan, a 20-yard shot from outside the penalty area that flew
into the top corner of the goal.
Touré was named for the Ivory Coast for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was the captain in
the team's first game vs. Portugal due to Didier Drogba's injury, which kept him benched.
International goals Career statistics
Club As of 23 September 2014.
(* FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield)(* UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League
and UEFA Super Cup) International
As of match played 23 March 2013.
Personal life Touré married his girlfriend of nine years,
Chimene Akassou, in June 2012.
He is a practicising Muslim and has daughter Sania and son Yassine.
He is the older brother of late Ibrahim Touré and Manchester City's Yaya Touré.
He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan and has stated that "It doesn't
affect me physically.
It makes me stronger.
You can do it when you believe so strongly in something.
A normal human can be without water for much longer than one day."
Honours
Club ASEC Mimosas
Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2001, 2002 CAF Super Cup: 1999
Arsenal Winner:
Premier League: 2003–04 FA Cup: 2002–03, 2004–05
FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004 Runner-up:
UEFA Champions League: 2005-06 League Cup: 2006-07
FA Community Shield: 2003, 2005 Manchester City
Winner: Premier League: 2011–12
FA Cup: 2010–11 FA Community Shield: 2012
Runner-up: FA Cup: 2012–13
FA Community Shield: 2011 International
Ivory Coast
Runner-up
Africa Cup of Nations: 2006, 2012 References
External links Kolo Touré career stats at Soccerbase