Yaya Touré

Profile Football Stars | Yaya Touré | Touré joined ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. Touré then moved to Olympiacos in 2005.  After representing Côte d'Ivoire in the 2006 World Cup, Touré was signed by French Ligue 1 side Monaco in August 2006. He played at the Stade Louis II for one season before leaving for Barcelona. Touré joined Spanish side Barcelona for € 9 million and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander.

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Internazionale of Italy, Toure scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5-0 victory. He scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Club on 2 September 2007. In the 2009 Champions League Final, he played center back due to injuries and suspensions of first-choice defenders, Despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona. In late June 2010 Barcelona confirmed That Touré was allowed to leave the club in the summer.

On 2 July, Touré signed a five-year deal with Manchester City for a fee of around £ 24 million and was allocated squad number 42, the which is the reverse of the number 24 jersey he sported at Barcelona, since Patrick Vieira had That number already been allocated. The move Toure teamed up with his elder brother Kolo, who signed for City in July 2009. On 28 July, Touré made his debut for City in a pre-season friendly against Club América, the which City won 4-1 on Penalties after a 1-1 draw with the Mexican side.

The 2011-12 season began strongly as Manchester City lead the table for the majority of the season, with Touré playing a vital part in midfield.  On 3 January 2012, in a match against Liverpool, Toure scored City's second goal of the game, a 33rd minute header from a David Silva corner. On 5 January, it was Touré Announced That would be heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations and would miss City's FA Cup third round clash with Fierce rivals Manchester United.

Personal information
Full name Gnégnéri Yaya Touré
Date of birth 13 May 1983 (age 28)
Place of birth Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Midfielder

Club information
Current club Manchester City
Number 42

Youth career
ASEC Mimosas 1996-2001

Senior career
years Team
Beveren 2001-2003 70 (3)
Metalurh Donetsk 2003-2005 33 (3)
Olympiacos 2005-2006 26 (3)
2006-2007 Monaco 27 (5)
2007-2010 Barcelona 74 (4)
2010-Manchester City 60 (10)

National team
2004-Côte d'Ivoire 67 (10)

Honours

Club
ASEC Mimosas
     Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2001

Olympiacos
     Super League Greece: 2005-06
     Greek Cup: 2005-06

Barcelona
     La Liga (2): 2008-09, 2009-10
     Copa del Rey: 2008-09
     Supercopa de España: 2009
     UEFA Champions League: 2008-09
     UEFA Super Cup: 2009
     FIFA Club World Cup: 2009

Manchester City
     FA Cup: 2010-11

Individual
     African Footballer of the Year: 2011
     PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2011-12

Didier Drogba

Profile Football Stars | Didier Drogba | The next season he finished as top scorer in the 2006-07 Premier League with 20 goals and also scored the winning goals in the 2007 Football League Cup Final and FA Cup Finals. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the equalizer in the final. In the 2009-10 season proved instrumental in Chelsea's Drogba Their first winning double in the club's history. He won his second Golden Boot with 29 goals, and scored the only goal in Chelsea's victory over Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup Final. This goal makes him the only player to score in six English Cup finals. Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in Bringing peace to his country. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move That helped confirm the peace process.

Drogba finished school when he switched cities to study Accountancy at university and he had to change clubs, Becoming an apprentice at Ligue 2 club Le Mans. Drogba lost his place to Daniel Cousin due to injury, then upon his return he failed to score throughout the remainder of the season. However, he returned to form Following the season, making 21 appearances and scoring five times.

Olympique de Marseille manager Alain Perrin signed Drogba from Guingamp, though he was soon replaced by José Anigo. Drogba retained his place in the team, scoring 19 goals and winning the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Player of the Year award. He also scored five goals in That season's UEFA Champions League and six in the UEFA Cup. Drogba Remains a club legend in Marseille, Despite playing only one season for the club.

Signing for Chelsea in July 2004 for £ 24 million, Drogba scored in his third game for the club with a header against Crystal Palace. Chelsea won the Premiership, only Their second English top-flight championship and Their first in 50 years, and the League Cup, with Drogba scoring in extra time in a 3-2 final win against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Drogba scored 16 goals in 40 games for Chelsea in his first season: 10th in the Premiership, five in the Champions League and one in the League Cup final. While playing against Norwich City on 27 August 2011, Drogba suffered a concussion in a collision Goalkeeper John Ruddy with Norwich. After missing two games, Drogba made his return to the Chelsea squad on 24 September against Swansea City. Drogba went on scoring his first goal of the season in a 4-1 win. Drogba received a red card on 23 October against Queens Park Rangers, Chelsea ended up losing 1-0.] On 31 December 2011, Drogba scored his 150th goal for Chelsea against Aston Villa, putting him level with Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley in terms of the club's top Scorers of all time. Even though, Chelsea was leading with the penalty scored by Drobga, the game ended in a 3-1 loss for Chelsea.  Drogba scored his 99th Premier League goal for Chelsea on 25 February 2012, in a 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. Drogba scored his 100th Premier League goal for Chelsea on 10 March 2012, in a 1-0 win over Stoke City.

Drogba is a Côte d'Ivoire international and helped the team qualify for its first ever World Cup, held in Germany in 2006. In February 2006, Drogba captained Côte d'Ivoire to Their second African Cup of Nations final, scoring the only goal in their semi-final match with Nigeria and putting away the spot-kick Deciding in their record-tying 12-11 penalty shootout quarter -final win over Cameroon. Drogba scored the first goal for his team in the tournament against Sudan and his only goal in the group stage. In the quarter finals, Drogba scored twice in the 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.

Personal information
Didier Yves Drogba Full name Tébily
Date of birth 11 March 1978 (age 34)
Place of birth Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1/2 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Chelsea
Number 11

Youth career
Levallois 1996-1997
1997-1998 Le Mans

Senior career
years Team
1998-2002 Le Mans 64 (12)
Guingamp 2002-2003 45 (20)
Marseille 2003-2004 35 (19)
2004-Chelsea 221 (100)

National team
2002-Côte d'Ivoire 84 (54)

Honours

Club
Chelsea
     Premier League: 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10
     Football League Cup: 2004-05, 2006-07
     FA Cup: 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10
     FA Community Shield: 2005, 2009

Individual
     Onze d'Or: 2004
     UEFA Cup top scorer: 2004
     Ligue 1 Goal of the Year: 2004
     Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2004
     Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2004
     Ivorian Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2007
     African Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2009
     Chelsea Players' Player of the Year: 2007
     Premier League Golden Boot: 2007, 2010
     PFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2010
     UEFA Team of the Year: 2007
     ESM Team of the Year: 2007
     FIFPro World XI: 2007
     BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2009
     West African Footballer of the Year: 2010
     Chelsea Player of the Year: 2010
     Time Top 100: 2010
     Côte d'Ivoire all-time top scorer
     World Goalgetter of the 21st Century