Yaya Toure Explains How Barcelona Stopped Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 UCL Final: “We Jumped on Him”
- Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure has revealed how Barcelona successfully frustrated Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2009 UEFA Champions League final
- Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the 2008/09 final, with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi
- Manchester United narrowly beat Barcelona 1-0 in the 2007/08 UCL semifinals, thanks to a lone goal from Paul Scholes
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AFCON winner Yaya Toure has described five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players he has faced in the UEFA Champions League.
The two-time La Liga winner secured the Champions League with Barcelona in the 2008/09 season before moving to Manchester City.
The Saudi Arabia assistant coach shared his thoughts on what it was like playing against Ronaldo during his prime.
Source: Getty Images
Toure speaks on frustrating Ronaldo
Yaya Toure revealed that his teammates had to come up with an alternative strategy to stop Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2008/09 Champions League final, aside from the tactics provided by their coach.
Speaking on Obi One Podcast, the former Ivory Coast captain explained that Gerard Pique had asked him for advice on how to neutralise the former Real Madrid star.
The four-time CAF Player of the Year mentioned that, before the final, the defenders were tense but ultimately resorted to "jumping on" Ronaldo to disrupt his focus, a tactic that proved effective, per UEFA. He said:
“Going into the final was incredible. At one point, Cristiano Ronaldo kept getting the ball and holding onto it. He’s dangerous with both his left and right foot.
“Before the match started, during the line-up and handshakes, Pique turned to me and said, ‘Yaya, what can we do?’ Then Puyol jumped in and said, ‘Hey boy, my heart is gone.’ I was already sweating, thinking about how we were going to stop Ronaldo.
“After the handshakes, just before the referee blew the whistle, Puyol said, ‘Let’s go, this is real now.’ I looked at Busquets, we were all locked in.
“There was a moment when we lost the ball during an attack. Ronaldo started running, and Pique tried to tackle him from behind. Ronaldo powered through and shot with his left foot, it hit the crossbar. We looked at each other and thought, ‘We’re in trouble.’
“So I said to Pique, ‘Here’s what we’ll do. If he gets past, I’ll jump on him. You cover the other side.’ I also told Busquets to challenge him in the air, and I’d follow him wherever he went with the ball.
“That’s how we managed to control him. We came up with the strategy ourselves, right there on the pitch.”
Source: Getty Images
Fans React to Toure’s comment on caging Ronaldo
Manchester United fans have praised how Barcelona managed to frustrate Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League final.
One X user pointed out that Yaya Touré’s plan came from his experience playing against Ronaldo at both the international and club levels, while another fan remarked that the Portuguese star was the only standout player on the pitch.
@FareedAbdallah6 wrote:
“Yaya Toure knows him very well because he faced the GOAT in both club and national team matches. Please y’all should watch Drogba reaction after Cristiano’s power shot.”
@UsGarba said:
“You just have to be so great to be on the mind of 4 good players at their prime in the Super Barcelona team; Pique, Puyol, Toure and Busquet all on him.”
@White_Osimehn9 added:
“They will all say the truth when the time comes. I'm still waiting for Pique and Puyol.”
@McmanuelAbefe posited:
“This was why Manchester United lost that game. We had no player to run Messi down like Barca did with Ronaldo.
“I remember that match and I was upset because PARK wasn't on the field. Ronaldo was our best player and barca had enough players to hold him off and still play creative football.”
Toure says Drogba pushed for Chelsea move
Legit.ng earlier reported that Four-time CAF Player of the Year Yaya Toure said that Manchester City were more eager to sign him than Chelsea.
Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure revealed that his teammate Didier Drogba did everything he could to convince him to join Chelsea after his contract at Barcelona ended.
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Source: Legit.ng
