Source: Telegraph
Manchester United v Barcelona: Yaya Toure is Barca's unlikely defender
Champions League final
Barcelona v Manchester United
Kick-off: Wed May 27, 7.45pm, Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy
TV: Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports HD1, ITV1, ITV HD
Radio: BBC Radio Five Live
Injury and suspension will force Pep Guardiola to improvise with his back four for the Champions League final on Wednesday night, with Yaya Toure, normally a holding midfielder, expected to drop into the centre of defence.
But the Barcelona manager need not fear because Yaya is getting a crash-course in how to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney from an ideally placed source: brother Kolo.
"He calls me every day, telling me what I need to do," Yaya said. "It is not easy because now I'm playing the centre of the defence and I need Kolo's help."
Kolo is flying to Rome to watch his younger brother at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, hoping Barcelona can succeed where his Arsenal team failed in the semi-finals.
The fraternal bond is evidently close in the Toure family. The day after Arsenal were eliminated by United at the Emirates Stadium, Kolo came to watch Barcelona's last-gasp victory at Stamford Bridge. He celebrated jubilantly with Yaya after the game.
"He was very happy, very happy. As you know, Arsenal and Chelsea are big rivals in London and of course he was very happy for me. He called me and said 'make sure you concentrate because if you win this Champions League it is like me winning the Champions League'. Kolo is such an important person for me."
How Barcelona could do with Kolo right now. Guardiola is without his entire first-choice back four. Centre-backs Gabriel Milito and Rafael Marquez have long-term injuries and Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves are suspended.
The Barcelona manager has not been much impressed with Uruguayan centre-back Martin Cáceres, despite the club paying Villarreal €18 million for him last summer, so Yaya is expected to play in the centre, as he did against Chelsea.
The experimentation does not end there. While Carlos Puyol is a steady hand who can come in at right-back, Guardiola is unsure about the merits of the former Arsenal defender, Sylvinho, at left-back, and may even opt for to play another midfielder, Seydou Keita, in that position.
It's not as if Rooney and Ronaldo need much encouragement… Ferguson picked Ronaldo as a central striker against Barcelona in the semi-finals last year and played the Portuguese in the same position – at least for much of the game – against Internazionale and Arsenal in Europe this season.
That makes it even more problematic for Toure and Pique as Ronaldo, who has surged into form, likes to drop deep and use his phenomenal pace on the counterattack. Marking him is extraordinarily difficult.
Indeed, Toure is still of the belief that, despite Messi's 37 goals this year, Ronaldo just shades it as the best in world football – although Wednesday night could herald a power shift.
"Cristiano is No 1 right now because of everything he has achieved. Against Arsenal he scored that free kick from 50 metres! If you look at what Messi has done in the last year, what he does with the ball, how many goals he has scored you know he is great. Ronaldo is very fast with the ball and has power and strength.
"They are different players but I think if Barcelona win on Wednesday then Messi can become the No 1."
Toure's excitement is palpable. Unlike his older brother, he has had to struggle to get to into the football elite. They both started off at the ASEC academy in Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast, but while Kolo swiftly established himself at Arsenal, becoming part of the famous Invincibles team, Yaya had to work his way from Belgium (Beveren), through Ukraine (Metalurh Donetsk) and Greece (Olympiakos) to Monaco before Barcelona signed him for €9 million two years ago.
Having made a good impression in his first season, under Frank Rijkaard, he found himself on the outside at the beginning of this season as Guardiola favoured Keita and the gangly 20-year-old Catalan Sergi Busquets, who should deputise for Toure in midfield on Wednesday night.
However, Toure impressively forced his way back into the First XI, where his size and power added much need balance to a diminutive midfield.
His only disappointment has been that United denied him his 'dream final' against Kolo's Arsenal, whose aesthetic closely matches that of Barcelona.
"For me, Arsenal and Barcelona play similar football. In Spain the football is not so physical, so it is easier to play like that here. But in England it is not so easy because every time they play with power and they are strong.
"Look at the semi-final with Chelsea – Barcelona have small players like Andres Iniesta and then you look at the power of Michael Essien… For me this is the difference between football in England and Spain. But if Arsenal came and played in the Spanish league it would work for them.
"Five years ago I went to Arsenal but I didn't have the papers to stay. I hadn't played enough in the national team. If you want to come from Africa and play in England you need to have played in 70 per cent of the recent national team games.
"I played in a friendly game in Austria for them, in the team with my brother. It is my dream to play with Kolo. If he came to Barcelona it would be great."
Well, he's already their unofficial defensive coach, which is not a bad start.
