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Guillou's philosophy - and results
All of Jean-Marc Guillou's teams train barefooted
because he believes that reduces the chance of
injury and improves a player's touch.
They also practice and play some games without a
goalkeeper because Guillou feels it improves his
players' defensive capabilities and makes them
want to win the ball back higher up the pitch.
During his time working with ASEC, he developed
players such as Gervinho, Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo
Toure, Salomon Kalou and Didier Zokora.
Guillou now has academies in Mali, Algeria, Egypt,
Vietnam, Ghana and Belgium.
Yaya Toure (r) played with former Chelsea striker
Salomon Kalou as a teenager at ASEC Mimosas
Toure has developed into a powerful athlete
Yaya Toure (left) with fellow Ivorians Arsene Ne
and Igor Lolo, who also made the move to
Metalurh Donetsk
Toure's story
Born: Bouake, Ivory Coast Age: 30
Favourite players as a boy: Patrick Vieira and
Socrates
Clubs: Les Inconditionnels (1995-96) , ASEC
Mimosas (1996-2001), Beveren (2001-03),
Metalurh Donetsk (2003-05), Olympiakos
(2005-06), Monaco (2006-07), Barcelona
(2007-10), Manchester City (2010- )
Country: 82 Ivory Coast caps, 16 goals
Languages spoken: French, Russian, Greek,
Catalan, English
Honours won: The 2009 Champions League.
League titles in Greece, Spain and England, and
domestic cups in each country too.
Toure won the Champions League and two La Liga
titles while with Barca
Cannot play media. You do not have the correct
version of the flash player. Download the correct
version
How Man City profit from Toure's new skills
Share
From Abidjan to Etihad
Stadium: Yaya Toure's
incredible journey
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16, FIRST LEG:
MANCHESTER CITY V BARCELONA
Venue: Etihad Stadium Date: Tuesday 18 February Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC
Sport website
According to the people who know him
best, Yaya Toure always had the ability and
ambition he needed to make his journey
from a barefooted boy footballer to one of
the best players in the world.
But, even for someone as gifted as the Manchester
City midfielder, those attributes on their own might
not have been enough.
Ahead of this week's mouth-watering Champions
League clash with his former club Barcelona, the
30-year-old has two men in particular to thank for
the shape of his unique career so far.
The first is former France international Jean-Marc
Guillou, a football eccentric, pioneering coach and
one of Arsene Wenger's oldest allies. He moulded
Toure as a player and a personality, and brought
him to Europe from Ivory Coast.
"I realised very quickly, when I first saw him aged
12, that Yaya had huge potential," Guillou told BBC
Sport. "He was the one who could, later on, be a
rival to the best players in the world. For me, it is
a pleasure to have played my part in making that
happen."
Then there is Dimitri Seluk, a Ukrainian agent who
claims he is different from others in his profession
because, as he puts it: "I like my players more
than I like money."
He helped make Toure a millionaire and also took
him on a tour of some unlikely European clubs.
During that time, they forged a bond so strong that
Toure named his second son Dimitri after his
friend and adviser.
"When he was young, I put Yaya in more difficult
situations so he had to grow and have a stronger
personality," Seluk told BBC Sport. "Everywhere he
went, he proved himself, and that has paid off for
him in the end."
Because of Seluk, Toure's story features chapters
in Ukraine, Greece, Monaco, Spain and Manchester
but it began when Guillou first noticed the fledgling
talent in his academy at ASEC Mimosas in the
Ivorian city of Abidjan.
"Nobody had talked about him to me," Guillou
said. "Even his older brother Kolo, who already
played for us, had not mentioned him.
"Above anything else, it was Yaya's technical
ability and performance in that game which made
me decide to take him on myself straight away."
Under Guillou's tutelage, Toure's skills developed
and so did his personality. Shortly before his move
to Europe, aged 18, he made his own decision
about where he was best off playing.
"He left our academy to join our partner club but
came back to train with us after two weeks
because he thought he was wasting his time over
there," Guillou recalled.
"Six months later, knowing that, I took him to
Belgium because as well as his talent he had
showed me he had character and he knew what he
wanted."
Toure was one of 24 Ivorians to join KSK Beveren
in 2001 in an experiment staged by Guillou that
saw him buy a club, then use Belgium's more
relaxed naturalisation laws to import his academy
players en masse and play them in the country's
top division.
None of them are still in Beveren, and Toure's old
club does not even exist - it merged with a
neighbouring team in 2010. But people in the town
have not forgotten Toure, or his attitude.
Danny Stuer, Beveren's fitness trainer when Toure
played for them, recalls "a tall, skinny guy" who
lived on junk food but desperately wanted improve
his physique.
"Now I look at Yaya and see a top athlete but,
back then, he needed more muscles," Stuer told
BBC Sport. "He knew he had to work to get a good
result, so he was in my gym all the time. I worked
with him practically every day and his build altered
a lot."
Toure was taking the first steps towards becoming
the midfield powerhouse we know today.
When he signed for Beveren, Toure weighed
around 12st and was 6ft 1.5in tall. Now he is 6ft
3in and 14 stone.
But while his physique was changing then, his
dedication did not.
"He was a lovely guy, quite shy," added Stuer.
"When the other players received money, they
would go out and buy beer, while Yaya always
stayed in his apartment, focusing on the next day's
training or the next game. He always had a vision
- he wanted to play for a great team."
That team could have been Arsenal. Their boss
Wenger was following Toure's progress closely
and the midfielder went on trial with the Gunners in
2003, playing in a friendly against Barnet and
hoping to join older brother Kolo in north London.
However, passport issues prevented the switch to
England and moves to two bigger Belgian clubs,
Anderlecht and Club Brugge, also fell through when
they refused to pay Beveren's £2m asking price.
Instead, with Seluk now pulling the strings, Toure
went east, joining Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine with
two of Beveren's other Ivorians; Arsene Ne and
Igor Lolo.
His brother Kolo was against the move and Toure
disliked the cold climate, but he did not stop
applying himself. He has described the 18 months
he spent in Donetsk as the time when he learned
that "football was a job".
"He went to Ukraine and developed, not only in
football but in life too," Seluk explained. "Yaya had
no family there, so of course I helped him. But
after his time in Ukraine, he had a stronger
mentality."
The next stop was Olympiakos, in Greece, where
his coach was Trond Sollied. The Norwegian was
the coach who had tried to sign Toure for Brugge
in 2003 - and this time had the necessary funds
when Seluk said the Ivorian was available.
"I had first seen him in Belgium," Sollied said.
"Beveren had an outstanding team and he was one
of their biggest talents. He was a diamond.
"Then he went away to Metalurh and learned about
surviving football. I knew his agent and kept in
touch. He contacted me before I started with
Olympiakos and this was my opportunity to sign
him.
"Yaya loved it in Greece - the weather and the way
we played was perfect for him. Our fans adored
him. After his time in Ukraine, it was like seeing
somebody get a new life after living in a mine.
From day one, he was a sensation.
"He was very easy to work with, very calm and
always with the right attitude. He just grew and
grew as a leader and his progress was like a
never-ending story."
Excelling in the centre of midfield alongside veteran
Brazilian Rivaldo, Toure secured his first serious
silverware.
He helped Olympiakos win the Greek league and
cup double, tasted Champions League football for
the first time and then played in the 2006 World
Cup for Ivory Coast.
Having attracted the attention of other teams, he
moved to Monaco later that summer.
"Even at a very big club like Olympiakos, we knew
we were just one step for Yaya," Sollied added.
"We knew he had to take another step for himself."
Again it was Seluk who orchestrated the move.
And, again, Toure was happy to trust Seluk's
judgement about where he should play next.
"There is a reason clubs trust me if I recommend a
player," Seluk said. "For example, I recommended
Yaya to Olympiakos, and they sold him for twice
the money he cost them.
"After that I recommended Yaya to Monaco. They
also made twice the money they spent. Normally, if
I recommend players to a club, everybody wins
and nobody loses. I don't see one club who loses
money with me.
"Yaya trusts me 100% too. Before Ukraine, Kolo
told him it was not good to go there, but instead
he listened to me.
"We signed the contract for Metalist in Barcelona
and I told Yaya that, in three or four years, you will
play here in Barcelona too."
Seluk was right. After a mixed season at Monaco
ended with him scoring the goals that kept them in
the French top flight, he got his dream move to
Barca.
Toure's stint at the Nou Camp would end
unhappily, as his game time was limited under
boss Pep Guardiola, but it still included a
Champions League triumph in 2009, with him
playing at centre-back in the final against
Manchester United, and two La Liga titles.
Since moving to City for £24m in 2010, he has
won the FA Cup and the Premier League title, while
developing from a dedicated defensive midfielder
into a swashbuckling scorer of vital goals and, this
season, adding wicked free-kicks to his repertoire.
His desire to keep improving echoes what he
learnt at ASEC as a boy, according to Guilllou.
"One of our values is to instil this desire to always
do better and make the most of each training
session to get better," Guillou added.
"Yaya is a perfectionist. What a lot of players
discover at the end of their careers, he discovered
at the start."
What next? According to Seluk, Yaya is happy at
City, and is focused on gathering more trophies,
for the team and for himself.
He could win four this season, and is also eyeing a
fourth-straight African player of the year award in
2014. And however many prizes he ends up with,
he is unlikely to lose his appetite for more.
"He has only got one career," said Seluk. "He
wants to make the most of it."
Share this story
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport
Also related to this story
16 Dec 2013 FOOTBALL
16 Dec 2013 FOOTBALL
09 Jan 2014 AFRICAN FOOTBALL
02 Dec 2013 AFRICAN FOOTBALL
GMT
Guillou's philosophy - and results
All of Jean-Marc Guillou's teams train barefooted
because he believes that reduces the chance of
injury and improves a player's touch.
They also practice and play some games without a
goalkeeper because Guillou feels it improves his
players' defensive capabilities and makes them
want to win the ball back higher up the pitch.
During his time working with ASEC, he developed
players such as Gervinho, Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo
Toure, Salomon Kalou and Didier Zokora.
Guillou now has academies in Mali, Algeria, Egypt,
Vietnam, Ghana and Belgium.
Yaya Toure (r) played with former Chelsea striker
Salomon Kalou as a teenager at ASEC Mimosas
Toure has developed into a powerful athlete
Yaya Toure (left) with fellow Ivorians Arsene Ne
and Igor Lolo, who also made the move to
Metalurh Donetsk
Toure's story
Born: Bouake, Ivory Coast Age: 30
Favourite players as a boy: Patrick Vieira and
Socrates
Clubs: Les Inconditionnels (1995-96) , ASEC
Mimosas (1996-2001), Beveren (2001-03),
Metalurh Donetsk (2003-05), Olympiakos
(2005-06), Monaco (2006-07), Barcelona
(2007-10), Manchester City (2010- )
Country: 82 Ivory Coast caps, 16 goals
Languages spoken: French, Russian, Greek,
Catalan, English
Honours won: The 2009 Champions League.
League titles in Greece, Spain and England, and
domestic cups in each country too.
Toure won the Champions League and two La Liga
titles while with Barca
Cannot play media. You do not have the correct
version of the flash player. Download the correct
version
How Man City profit from Toure's new skills
Share
From Abidjan to Etihad
Stadium: Yaya Toure's
incredible journey
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16, FIRST LEG:
MANCHESTER CITY V BARCELONA
Venue: Etihad Stadium Date: Tuesday 18 February Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC
Sport website
According to the people who know him
best, Yaya Toure always had the ability and
ambition he needed to make his journey
from a barefooted boy footballer to one of
the best players in the world.
But, even for someone as gifted as the Manchester
City midfielder, those attributes on their own might
not have been enough.
Ahead of this week's mouth-watering Champions
League clash with his former club Barcelona, the
30-year-old has two men in particular to thank for
the shape of his unique career so far.
The first is former France international Jean-Marc
Guillou, a football eccentric, pioneering coach and
one of Arsene Wenger's oldest allies. He moulded
Toure as a player and a personality, and brought
him to Europe from Ivory Coast.
"I realised very quickly, when I first saw him aged
12, that Yaya had huge potential," Guillou told BBC
Sport. "He was the one who could, later on, be a
rival to the best players in the world. For me, it is
a pleasure to have played my part in making that
happen."
Then there is Dimitri Seluk, a Ukrainian agent who
claims he is different from others in his profession
because, as he puts it: "I like my players more
than I like money."
He helped make Toure a millionaire and also took
him on a tour of some unlikely European clubs.
During that time, they forged a bond so strong that
Toure named his second son Dimitri after his
friend and adviser.
"When he was young, I put Yaya in more difficult
situations so he had to grow and have a stronger
personality," Seluk told BBC Sport. "Everywhere he
went, he proved himself, and that has paid off for
him in the end."
Because of Seluk, Toure's story features chapters
in Ukraine, Greece, Monaco, Spain and Manchester
but it began when Guillou first noticed the fledgling
talent in his academy at ASEC Mimosas in the
Ivorian city of Abidjan.
"Nobody had talked about him to me," Guillou
said. "Even his older brother Kolo, who already
played for us, had not mentioned him.
"Above anything else, it was Yaya's technical
ability and performance in that game which made
me decide to take him on myself straight away."
Under Guillou's tutelage, Toure's skills developed
and so did his personality. Shortly before his move
to Europe, aged 18, he made his own decision
about where he was best off playing.
"He left our academy to join our partner club but
came back to train with us after two weeks
because he thought he was wasting his time over
there," Guillou recalled.
"Six months later, knowing that, I took him to
Belgium because as well as his talent he had
showed me he had character and he knew what he
wanted."
Toure was one of 24 Ivorians to join KSK Beveren
in 2001 in an experiment staged by Guillou that
saw him buy a club, then use Belgium's more
relaxed naturalisation laws to import his academy
players en masse and play them in the country's
top division.
None of them are still in Beveren, and Toure's old
club does not even exist - it merged with a
neighbouring team in 2010. But people in the town
have not forgotten Toure, or his attitude.
Danny Stuer, Beveren's fitness trainer when Toure
played for them, recalls "a tall, skinny guy" who
lived on junk food but desperately wanted improve
his physique.
"Now I look at Yaya and see a top athlete but,
back then, he needed more muscles," Stuer told
BBC Sport. "He knew he had to work to get a good
result, so he was in my gym all the time. I worked
with him practically every day and his build altered
a lot."
Toure was taking the first steps towards becoming
the midfield powerhouse we know today.
When he signed for Beveren, Toure weighed
around 12st and was 6ft 1.5in tall. Now he is 6ft
3in and 14 stone.
But while his physique was changing then, his
dedication did not.
"He was a lovely guy, quite shy," added Stuer.
"When the other players received money, they
would go out and buy beer, while Yaya always
stayed in his apartment, focusing on the next day's
training or the next game. He always had a vision
- he wanted to play for a great team."
That team could have been Arsenal. Their boss
Wenger was following Toure's progress closely
and the midfielder went on trial with the Gunners in
2003, playing in a friendly against Barnet and
hoping to join older brother Kolo in north London.
However, passport issues prevented the switch to
England and moves to two bigger Belgian clubs,
Anderlecht and Club Brugge, also fell through when
they refused to pay Beveren's £2m asking price.
Instead, with Seluk now pulling the strings, Toure
went east, joining Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine with
two of Beveren's other Ivorians; Arsene Ne and
Igor Lolo.
His brother Kolo was against the move and Toure
disliked the cold climate, but he did not stop
applying himself. He has described the 18 months
he spent in Donetsk as the time when he learned
that "football was a job".
"He went to Ukraine and developed, not only in
football but in life too," Seluk explained. "Yaya had
no family there, so of course I helped him. But
after his time in Ukraine, he had a stronger
mentality."
The next stop was Olympiakos, in Greece, where
his coach was Trond Sollied. The Norwegian was
the coach who had tried to sign Toure for Brugge
in 2003 - and this time had the necessary funds
when Seluk said the Ivorian was available.
"I had first seen him in Belgium," Sollied said.
"Beveren had an outstanding team and he was one
of their biggest talents. He was a diamond.
"Then he went away to Metalurh and learned about
surviving football. I knew his agent and kept in
touch. He contacted me before I started with
Olympiakos and this was my opportunity to sign
him.
"Yaya loved it in Greece - the weather and the way
we played was perfect for him. Our fans adored
him. After his time in Ukraine, it was like seeing
somebody get a new life after living in a mine.
From day one, he was a sensation.
"He was very easy to work with, very calm and
always with the right attitude. He just grew and
grew as a leader and his progress was like a
never-ending story."
Excelling in the centre of midfield alongside veteran
Brazilian Rivaldo, Toure secured his first serious
silverware.
He helped Olympiakos win the Greek league and
cup double, tasted Champions League football for
the first time and then played in the 2006 World
Cup for Ivory Coast.
Having attracted the attention of other teams, he
moved to Monaco later that summer.
"Even at a very big club like Olympiakos, we knew
we were just one step for Yaya," Sollied added.
"We knew he had to take another step for himself."
Again it was Seluk who orchestrated the move.
And, again, Toure was happy to trust Seluk's
judgement about where he should play next.
"There is a reason clubs trust me if I recommend a
player," Seluk said. "For example, I recommended
Yaya to Olympiakos, and they sold him for twice
the money he cost them.
"After that I recommended Yaya to Monaco. They
also made twice the money they spent. Normally, if
I recommend players to a club, everybody wins
and nobody loses. I don't see one club who loses
money with me.
"Yaya trusts me 100% too. Before Ukraine, Kolo
told him it was not good to go there, but instead
he listened to me.
"We signed the contract for Metalist in Barcelona
and I told Yaya that, in three or four years, you will
play here in Barcelona too."
Seluk was right. After a mixed season at Monaco
ended with him scoring the goals that kept them in
the French top flight, he got his dream move to
Barca.
Toure's stint at the Nou Camp would end
unhappily, as his game time was limited under
boss Pep Guardiola, but it still included a
Champions League triumph in 2009, with him
playing at centre-back in the final against
Manchester United, and two La Liga titles.
Since moving to City for £24m in 2010, he has
won the FA Cup and the Premier League title, while
developing from a dedicated defensive midfielder
into a swashbuckling scorer of vital goals and, this
season, adding wicked free-kicks to his repertoire.
His desire to keep improving echoes what he
learnt at ASEC as a boy, according to Guilllou.
"One of our values is to instil this desire to always
do better and make the most of each training
session to get better," Guillou added.
"Yaya is a perfectionist. What a lot of players
discover at the end of their careers, he discovered
at the start."
What next? According to Seluk, Yaya is happy at
City, and is focused on gathering more trophies,
for the team and for himself.
He could win four this season, and is also eyeing a
fourth-straight African player of the year award in
2014. And however many prizes he ends up with,
he is unlikely to lose his appetite for more.
"He has only got one career," said Seluk. "He
wants to make the most of it."
Share this story
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport
Also related to this story
16 Dec 2013 FOOTBALL
16 Dec 2013 FOOTBALL
09 Jan 2014 AFRICAN FOOTBALL
02 Dec 2013 AFRICAN FOOTBALL
