Kolo Toure
Kolo Toure
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Age: 18
Position: Forward
Country: Argentina
Caps: 6
Goals: 1
Club: Barcelona
Former clubs: Gr |  |
Wednesday, 24, May 2006 12:22
Age: 25
Position: Defender
Country: Ivory Coast
Caps: 40
Goals: 1
Club: Arsenal
Previous clubs: ASEC Abidjan
Estimated Chelsea-target value: £12 million and a horse's head
Not to be confused with Yaya, his brother and Ivory Coast midfielder.
"Kolo run, Kolo shoot, Kolo score, Kolo go mad." This is the kind of philosophy that epitomises Arsenal centreback Kolo Toure who will be hoping to play a crucial role in the Ivory Coast's first ever World Cup finals campaign.
The 25-year-old was plucked from obscurity by Arsene Wenger's far-reaching scouting network back in 2002 and joined Arsenal for just £150,000. It was a small sum of money for what has turned out to be a remarkable piece of judgement from the French professor. Within the space of two seasons, Wenger transformed a raw Toure from a utility midfielder into one of the best centrebacks playing in the Premiership.
Toure's finest asset is his pace. He has the ability to cover for mistakes by fellow defenders, as well as his own, and can be more than a handful surging forward. Allied to this are an enthusiasm for the game and athleticism in its application that make him one of the most committed footballers you are likely to lay eyes on.
Nowhere was this more evident than at the Arsenal training ground in his early days at the north London club. Toure would reportedly shake hands with each and every team-mate after training sessions, so grateful was he to be among their ranks. On coach trips to away games he would bury his head in an English dictionary to be able to immerse himself in football speak as quickly as possible (although how useful this was in the multi-lingual marble halls of Highbury is debatable).
A few years down the line, Toure is now the mainstay of an Arsenal defence, which in the last three seasons, has gone an entire Premiership season unbeaten, won the FA Cup and reached the final of the Champions League, achieving a competition record of ten consecutive clean sheets in the process.
On the international scene, he helped the Ivory Coast reach the final of the African Cup of Nations this year, scoring in the penalty shoot-out but eventually losing out to Egypt. He will now be hoping to carry his fine form into the World Cup finals as he and his Ivory Coast team-mates look to ruffle the feathers of the likes of Argentina and Holland.
James Amar.