Toure raises the stakes with a very high rating of Barca's Champions League opponents, Olympique Lyon.


After squaring up against Lyon in the French Ligue 1, Toure Yaya is once again coming face-to-face with his old foes, but this time,not in the shirts of Monaco, but dorning the Blue and Red stripes of Barca. The stage this time, is the European Champions League group matches and not the traditional Lyon - Monaco grudge match. As attention is also focused on the former French League star, Toure Yaya, who played only one season in the League 1 but set the entire stage on fire, the young Ivorien player has some words of wisdom from experience for his present club, Barcelona:

It will be disastrous to take Lyon for granted. It will be a tough match. While Lyon are out to prove they are a strong force, we here at Barca are also keen to demonstrate our capability and assert our presence in the best competition in Europe. With the strengthening of our squad and the efforts of the Board, we’re keen to win a lot of titles. Lyon's present team is a bit weakened by the departure of a number of important players, such as Thiago. Despite that, I believe that Olympique is still a very good team. I believe it’ll be a very difficult match. I know all the players, including the ones that have signed recently, but I believe that the strength of Lyon lies in collective football and strong team networking.

Toure describes Olympique Lyon as the best team in France, and looks forward to meeting and defeating the French stars:

It’s rather ironic. I’ve only just arrived at Barça and already I have to face the best team in France. I believe it’ll be a good match.

Stuttgart of Germany and Glasgow Rangers of Scotland are the other two teams who will play FC Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League.