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Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure has etched his name into the history of African football after becoming the first African head coach to guide a team into the UEFA Champions League league phase.
The former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder achieved the historic feat on Wednesday night as his Slovan Bratislava side secured a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Slovenian champions NK Celje, completing a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
Slovan entered the decisive second leg under pressure after being held to a 1-1 draw at home. They travelled to Slovenia knowing that victory was essential if they were to keep their Champions League dream alive.
The visitors made a perfect start when Andraz Sporar opened the scoring in the 18th minute. The forward capitalised on a long ball before calmly lifting his effort over the goalkeeper to give Slovan the advantage.
Celje responded strongly and were rewarded with a penalty shortly before half-time. Svit Seslar stepped up and converted from the spot to restore parity and give the home side renewed belief.
The Slovenian champions continued to push for the decisive goal after the break and came agonisingly close when Yaya Dukuly saw his effort crash against the post.
With the tie appearing destined for a penalty shootout, Slovan produced a late moment of drama. In the 100th minute, Panamanian midfielder Cristian Martinez found the decisive goal, sending the Slovan bench into wild celebrations and securing their place in the Champions League league phase.
For Toure, the achievement is a remarkable milestone in the early stages of his managerial career. Appointed Slovan Bratislava head coach in June 2026 on a three-year contract, the 43-year-old took charge of the Slovak champions after previously working as an assistant coach with the Saudi Arabia national team.
His transition into management has already produced impressive results. Slovan have won five of their six competitive matches since Toure took charge, underlining the immediate impact of the Ivorian's leadership.
Toure's historic achievement also adds another chapter to his remarkable connection with the Champions League. As a player, he won the competition with Barcelona and went on to enjoy a hugely successful career at Manchester City, where he claimed three Premier League titles.
Now, he has created history from the dugout.
Touré took over the Slovakian club as head coach in June.They have been unbeaten in 10 competitive games under him.
Slovan Bratislava will compete in the Champions League league phase for only the second time in their history, having previously reached the competition's main stage in the 2024-25 season.
The club will discover their league-phase opponents in Thursday's draw, but regardless of who they face, Toure has already secured his place in the history books as an African pioneer on the Champions League touchline.
Nigeria's Ndubuisi Egbo had already made history in 2020 as the first African to manage a club in the CL with KF Tirana, but his team did not reach the league phase.
