FCBARCELONA.CAT

29.08.2008 16:35

Touré knows all about Shakhtar

Berta Brau

Touré Yaya knows all about playing against Shakhtar Donetsk having played for their local rivals Metalurh Donetsk for two seasons and will be able to give FC Barcelona some insight into how the Ukrainian outfit play.

The Ivory Coast midfielder will have his experience tapped into ahead of the Blaugrana's encounters with Shakhtar after they were drawn together in the Champions League group stage along with Sporting Lisbon and Basel. Touré played for Metalurh between 200 and 2005 and recalled some his memories to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat. "It was a difficult time because I was very young and it was a country with few resources," he explained. "But I am looking forward to going back there and playing again and to returning to the Shakhtar stadium."

Hard working and united

"Although I have not kept up with the currnt team, I know that Shakhtar are a side that have signed some very good players and have a number of Brazilians," Touré continued. "They are a hard-working team that are very united. They move as one block when going forward and when they defend and because of that we will have to take the games very seriously."

Memories of Donetsk

During his time with Metalruh, Touré played in several local derbies and knows how strong the rivalry is between the two Donetsk sides. "The truth is that they were tough game because the Shakhtar fans are noisy and we even had problems finishing one game because of problems off the pitch. There will be no problems with Barça though because the supporters their enjoy the visits of the big teams with great players."

What an atmosphere

"Their fans really supporter their team and will be singing from the start because they will be playing against Barcelona and picking up a result against us would be seen as something really important," he continued. "But we will have to play our own game and not be affected by anything." Touré then explained that he believes that the experience in the Barça team will see the team not be bothered by the atmosphere.