Yaya Toure Makes History as First African Coach in UCL

Yaya Toure, a former Ivory Coast international and current head coach of Slovan Bratislava, has become the first African coach to lead a club into the UEFA Champions League league phase. This historic achievement occurred after Slovan Bratislava defeated Slovenian side NK Celje 2-1 after extra time in the second leg of their final qualifying tie on Wednesday, resulting in a 3-2 aggregate win.

Toure, appointed as Slovan's head coach in June, has made a significant impact in his first senior managerial position by guiding the club through three qualifying rounds. Slovan's campaign included victories over Georgia's Saburtalo, Sweden's Mjallby, and finally Celje.

Cristian Martinez scored the decisive goal in the 100th minute of the match. Toure's achievement surpasses that of Nigerian coach Ndubuisi Egbo, who led KF Tirana into the Champions League qualifying rounds in 2020 but did not reach the main competition.

Slovan Bratislava's first league-phase match will be against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.