Why Yaya Toure is arguably the best midfielder of the modern era

The subject of best midfielders in football history should be a more complex one, judging simply by the sheer amount of talented midfielders the sport has produced.

And yet, whenever this topic trends, only a handful of names are brought up; Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Frank Lampard, Zinedine Zidane and even Paul Scholes are often the usual suspects.

While other great names have been sidelined from the conversation, none can feel more aggrieved about it than Yaya Toure, who is arguably the best judging strictly by ability.

It is important to note that this discussion is purely based on ability displayed on the pitch and not about greatness or the success of their careers.

Not that Yaya wouldn’t be able to keep up when achievements are the focal point as the Ivorian won 18 major trophies for club and country in his distinguished 18-year career.

But trophies are more of team achievements and pretty much everyone in this discussion was a serial winner in their day which is why it doesn’t make too much of a difference.

Yaya Toure’s case to not only be in the conversation but also ahead of his peers is built on the uniqueness of his game and unparalleled productivity displayed in his prime years.

The only real counter-argument against Yaya would be that his “prime years” did not last as long as the other elite midfielders but he was so genuinely unplayable (albeit for a short period of time) that it shouldn’t matter much.

Yaya Toure broke into the limelight after a solid 2005/06 season with Olympiacos which led to him representing Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and subsequently sealing a move to French giants Monaco that summer.

One impressive season later, Barcelona came calling and Yaya would spend the next three years getting misused as a defensive midfielder and a centre-back.

Of course, his quality still shone through in moments and he did whatever was required of him to help the team but ultimately, his time at Barcelona wasted a decent portion of his prime years.

By the time he left for Manchester City in 2010, Yaya Toure was 27 years old, leaving him a shorter prime to play at an optimal level than his peers.

Despite all that, Yaya Toure’s class was apparent immediately he set foot in England and was playing in his preferred central midfield role.

After three years of being typecast as a defensive player, the Ivorian was finally unleashed and he displayed the full extent of his skillset in the toughest league in the world with the world watching.

Yaya Toure’s 2013/14 season is as good a season as can be expected of any central midfielder as the Ivorian returned 24 goals and 12 assists in 49 games across all competitions for Manchester City en route to a Premier League and EFL Cup double.

Yaya Toure would go on to play 316 games for Manchester City, scoring 79 goals and assisting 49 in eight seasons.

While those numbers are impressive for a central midfielder, the eye test is where Yaya excels even more, surpassing his peers.

It was almost inconceivable that a 6-foot-1-inch tall central midfielder could do the things Yaya was capable of on a football field, as the kids today would say; “you just had to be there”.

How many players can boast of having Vieira’s mobility, Zidane’s ball control, Iniesta’s dainty feet, Xavi’s vision, Scholes’ passing range and Lampard’s goal sense? Only one…Yaya Toure.

Granted, he was not as good at each of these things individually as the players referenced but the combination of these abilities is impressive enough for one player.

His immaculate shooting technique is unique to just Yaya to this day, no other player has mastered the art of side-footing home 30-yard shots while looking as nonchalant as possible.

How is it that a player who was known for his productivity, bursting energetic runs, limitless range of shooting, set-piece speciality, aerial and ground dominance, a two-way threat like no other still remains so largely unappreciated?

Even at Manchester City where he played his best football, Yaya Toure is barely recognised as a club legend, let alone getting much-deserved recognition as a true great of the Premier League and football at large.