FCBARCELONA.CAT

26.06.2007 14:43

"I feel ready for this challenge"

Jordi Clos

Touré Yaya believes that he ready to face the challenge of playing for FC Barcelona and admitted that joining the Blaugrana from AS Monaco was the fulfilment of one of his dreams.

The Ivory Coast international was presented as a new player by Barça on Tuesday in the same conference room that saw Thierry Henry introduced to the media 24 hours earlier. Yaya has been brought in, according to technical secretary Txiki Begiristain, to "reinforce the defensive midfield position, where a lack of balance between defence and attack was seen."

Giving everything

I want to live up to the expectation," Yaya explained. "I feel ready for this challenge." Just like Henry, the 24-year-old was keen to move to FC Barcelona because of the attractive football that team plays. "I really wanted to play for a club like this and I will give everything that I have," he continued. After becoming the first player from the Ivory Coast to join the Blaugrana, Yaya explained that his former team-mate at Monaco, Gerard López, had helped explain about life at the club and in the city.

Key player

Club president, Joan Laporta, heaped praise on the new arrival as he stated: "He is one of those players that it is essential to have. He has a great presence, is physically strong and superb technically. He has everything required to become a key player for the team."

Similar to Vieira

Begiristain believes that Yaya is much more similar to Patrick Vieira than he is to Julio Baptista, after the player was compared to both, although he said that the former Metlaurg Donetsk star should be judgerd on his own merits. "He is strong, hard, difficult to beat and has great distribution," said the technical secretary, who has been tracking Yaya since he played for Olympiacos. Yaya will also not take up a non-EU place as he is set to gain dual nationality in the next few weeks.