Yaya Toure has coached Slovan Bratislava since last summer. Now the man from Ivory Coast has a Champions League record nobody wants on his CV.
On Tuesday evening, Toure's side lost 4-0 away to LASK in Austria on matchday four of the Champions League league phase. Slovan are the first club in the competition's history to lose each of their first four matches of a Champions League season by at least three goals.
Defending champions PSG thrashed Bratislava in their opening match (1-6). Before the heavy defeat in Linz, they also lost heavily against VfB Stuttgart (0-3) and away to AS Roma (0-4). Their goal difference of 1-17 and 0 points leave the Slovak champions bottom of the Champions League league-phase table.
Yaya Toure and Slovan Bratislava had no chance against LASK either
Against LASK, their weakest opponents on paper so far this Champions League season, Bratislava hoped to pick up their first points. Instead, Toure's side trailed 3-0 at half-time with no realistic way back. The Austrians added a fourth shortly after the restart.
"Honestly, it's really difficult right now," a dejected Toure said after the latest defeat. "They were more aggressive; perhaps we didn't fight hard enough."
Getty ImagesAs a player, the former Ivory Coast international enjoyed far more success in the Champions League. He won the trophy with Barcelona in the 2008/09 season, making ten appearances and playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 final victory over Manchester United.
Toure spent years among the world's best central midfielders and made 70 Champions League appearances for Barcelona, Olympiacos and Manchester City. The Ivorian ended his playing career in 2020 and began coaching just over a year later. His roles included youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur (2022 to 2023) and assistant coach of the Saudi Arabian national team (2023 to 2024). The 43-year-old's post in Bratislava, where he has signed a contract until 2029, is his first as a head coach in professional football.
Will Bratislava and Yaya Toure set another unwanted Champions League record?
After 13 matchdays, Slovan are second in the domestic league under Toure, but they risk missing out on the title for the first time since 2018. They are already eight points behind leaders Dunajska Streda.
In the Champions League, Slovan could set another unwanted record in their four remaining league-phase matches. Starting with their two defeats against AC Milan in 1992, Bratislava have lost 14 consecutive Champions League matches. Luxembourg's Jeunesse Esch hold the unwanted record, having lost 16 in a row in the predecessor competition, the European Cup, between 1973 and 1987.
If Slovan lose their upcoming Champions League matches against Betis Sevilla (24 November) and Shakhtar Donetsk (9 December), they will equal Esch's unwanted mark. The Slovak side then face Lille OSC (19 January, away) and Inter Milan (27 January, at home).