[官網] Toure Week: Kolo - Our future looks good

看板Arsenal作者wadissimo (World Cup Summer coming)時間19年前 (2006/07/05 21:52)推噓3(3推 0噓 1→)

留言4則, 3人參與討論串1/1

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=400555 Toure Week: Kolo - Our future looks good It is Kolo Toure Week on Arsenal.com. To celebrate the Ivorian centre back finishing second in the Club's official Player of the Season poll, we asked Arsenal Magazine editor Andy Exley to choose his favourite Toure interview from Club publications last season. He went for one conducted in the final weeks of last season just before our games with Juventus in the Champions League Quarter-Final: （Kolo是官網票選上季最佳槍手球員的亞軍，這裡官網挑出一段在歐冠對祖文前，官網記者對kolo的專訪） Arsenal fans have watched Kolo Toure grow from a boy into man whilst at Highbury and now the Gunners central defensive rock is convinced that our young side is also rapidly coming of age. “The future is for us, definitely,” insists Kolo: “Our young players have fantastic possibilities and they are getting better and better with every game, they are learning so quickly. Every single one of our young players is talented but because the boss has played them in so many games, they are learning from the situation and they are learning quickly. “The results and performances against Real Madrid showed how good they can be and there is more to come,” promises Kolo, adding, “the good thing is that we are getting tougher in the Premiership too which will help us for the rest of the season. “It may seem strange to people,” he continues, “that we can beat Real Madrid, but then lose to Blackburn, but I believe a lot comes down to inexperience. “Blackburn and such teams have some very strong physical players who can play football, but can also make it very difficult for us to play and learning how to deal with such teams and situations comes with experience and I can see the way the youngsters are adapting,” observes our 24 year-old veteran. Winning the Champions League is one route back into the competition still open to the Gunners, but Kolo is convinced that there are at least two further avenues open; third and fourth place in the Premiership. “It is very difficult for us to accept the position we are in in the Premier League at the moment because we are used to being the best, but I’m sure we can get back there again. The first thing we are aiming to do is to get to third or fourth place and we have so many games to play, I am sure we can do it and the wins against Fulham and Liverpool showed we are back where we belong. We have enough games to do it and I am convinced that we will be playing in the Champions League next season, but it will be difficult and we have to work hard together, but we can do it.” Amongst Arsenal's rivals for the third and fourth spots are Tottenham Hotspur. The great irony is that Kolo’s neighbour is none other than Ledley King: “He is a cool guy, a good friend and neighbour but once we get on to the football pitch all that is forgotten,” declares Kolo, whose eyes and smile widen when predicting that the encounter on April 22, “will be a battle!” （原來Kolo的鄰居是熱刺的King） If matters are turning for us in the Premiership, what says Kolo about the prospect of a trip to Turin to face Juventus and, of course, Patrick Vieira: “That is a really exciting tie. I am pleased that we have drawn a big team because it may help us keep focused and I believe we will do well. It will be good to see Patrick Vieira back at Highbury again and we know his quality so we will have to be at our best to limit his influence on the game. I'm sure the fans will give him a good reception and Patrick will enjoy the occasion because Arsenal and Highbury have a special place in his heart.” Kolo has himself become recognised as one of the world's best defenders, and fellow Ivorian, Emmanuel Eboue’s stock is rising rapidly. Indeed, no lesser authority than Martin Keown has stated that he sees Toure and Eboue as the best right-back and centre-back combination in Europe: “If Martin has said that I am very proud. I am also pleased for Emmanuel because he is a good man and a good friend, but I'm sure that he, like me, knows we have a lot more to do and much to improve. Our feet are firmly planted on the ground, but I do believe that we have a special understanding. The special thing for us at Arsenal is that there are many good players who can play in my position and that is the same for Emmanuel. You have to remember that we have Lauren at right-back too and he is a fantastic footballer. I am excited about our future because we have quality everywhere I look in our squad.” Kolo was one of the first players born in the Ivory Coast to make an impact in the Premiership. With Emmanuel Eboue impressing more and more with each game, it is a real possibility that along with Johan Djourou, who was born in the Ivory Coast before moving to Switzerland as a baby, three of a future Arsenal back four could hail from the African nation: “That's true,” smiles Kolo, “but Abou Diaby is from my country too [his parents are both Ivorian, though Abou was born in Paris]. There are now four of us at Arsenal and that is something amazing. It does make me quite proud and I feel I have a duty to help every new player, not just the players from the Ivory Coast, but everyone to settle in,” says the centre-half who is always a welcoming presence at the Club's training ground, regardless of whether you are a new multi-million pound signing or a delivery boy. （槍手除了Kolo與Eboue是象牙海岸人，Djourou是在象牙海岸出生，但在嬰兒時就隨雙親搬到瑞士來；至於Diaby，他的雙親雖然是象牙海岸人，但他是在巴黎出生） Kolo is 25 years old the day after Arsenal entertain Charlton Athletic, but recalls the time when he arrived in London as a 19 year-old, all alone, discovering a new language and culture on and off the football pitch: “It can be very difficult and I remember how it was for me and how I relied on the help of others. I think one of the main things we must all do in life is help others. For example, I know how important the first meeting with the squad can be. It can be difficult to walk into a room with so many superstar players and you are just a youngster beginning your career. I try to help with a smile and a joke to get any new players to feel comfortable. If a player is relaxed he will be able to mix in more easily and more quickly be part of the Arsenal family. That will help him play to his best, which is very important for the player and the Club,” explains the defender, who should break the 200 appearance threshold next season ? following the Liverpool game he had 177 Gunners games under his belt. What is also clear to see is that Kolo is a captain in the making. On the pitch he is totally committed as well as being a good organiser and talker. He has a way of lifting and guiding players around him in a way they all appreciate. Kolo, however, is embarrassed by the suggestions of him assuming the captaincy one day: “That is not something I think about because we have so many able people at Arsenal and the Ivory Coast. Thierry is our captain and is doing a great job. If God wills it that I become a captain some time then of course I will be happy to have that responsibility, but that is not a concern for me now.” The Ivory Coast were beaten finalists in the African Cup of Nations and although they lost to Egypt on penalties with just Kolo and Emmanuel Eboue converting their spot kicks, the Gunners’ number 28 is still brimming with pride regarding his country’s achievement: “I am not too disappointed because you have to remember it was our first tournament and we are a really young team. To reach the final and lose on penalties is a great achievement. Obviously we would have preferred to win, but it must be remembered that as a team we have been together for just a year and a half, whereas we were competing against teams like Cameroon, Nigeria and Egypt who have been together as a group for closer to ten years,” he explains: “We got better as the tournament progressed and the experience was good for us which should help us for the World Cup. （Kolo將在這一季，為槍手出賽滿兩百場） “I think we began slowly and didn't really play in our first couple of games but once our confidence grew we started doing well. It is strange that against Cameroon we scored 12 good penalties but we missed more than we scored in the penalty shoot-out in the final, but that is football,” sighs Kolo. One of the stars of the tournament was Kolo’s brother Yaya: “I think he was our best player,” announces Kolo, continuing, “but as a result he seems to have been linked to every major club in Europe. The thing about Yaya is that he does not get carried away. When we were in Egypt and one of the players read on the internet that Juventus and clubs in the Premier League wanted him, he just waved the news away as “just talk”, he did not let it get to him and just carried on as normal. Because he has that attitude, I know he will go far. Yaya is very happy at Olympiakos, he is learning a lot ? he now speaks Greek as well as English, French and Russian!” grins Kolo. The Ivory Coast’s performances in the African Cup of Nations have shortened their odds of progressing in the World Cup, but that is something that Kolo, like his brother, is dismissing as ‘just talk’. （Kolo他弟弟yaya也是個英法俄希語都通） “It is the first time the Ivory Coast have reached the World Cup and as a group we are expecting nothing, we are simply going to go to Germany, enjoy the experience and do the best we can. What we learned in the African Nations will hopefully help, but we are in a tough group with teams that we respect like Holland, Serbia and Argentina. I have joked around with Robin van Persie about the draw, but Dennis has told me that he wasn’t happy that Holland drew us and that respect coming from a player of his quality and knowledge is a big thing for us. We’ll see what happens” Being away from his family for such a long time for the tournament in Egypt was tough: “It was hard,” he reports, “especially as my wife was pregnant and my daughter was not even a year old. I kept in contact by telephone and spoke to them regularly but I also had the comfort of knowing my good friend Ousman was staying at my home to care for my family, he was the man of the house. （今年一月去打非洲盃時，Kolo的老婆正懷第二胎，他的大女兒還不滿一歲，還好雖然他身在非洲比賽，家裡還是有友人照顧） “I think that the experience of being away from my family during the African Nations Cup will help me at the World Cup and also because it is in the summer, people are on holidays and will be able to stay with my family, or, my wife and children can spend time with relatives back home. “They will be able to enjoy the World Cup there because everyone in the Ivory Coast is excited about the tournament and there is a great pride. We hope to do something special, but as I said, our main aim is to enjoy the experience.” Just hours before our 2-1 win over Liverpool, Kolo became a father for the second time when his wife Awo gave birth to a brother for little Sania: “We have called him Yiassin and we are very happy. I love being a father,” beams Kolo. “When Sania was born it was hard to leave her at first. I have now been blessed with a son too and I look forward to watching both my children grow up.” （Kolo女兒叫Sanai，剛出生的兒子叫Yiassin） The question is will Yiassin follow in his father’s football boots one day? “I'm not sure, but the most important thing for me is that he first grows up to be a decent person who respects people, that is the first thing for me and everything else, whatever it is, will follow.” Such an outlook seems to have worked well for you Kolo! 看來Kolo是個很religious的人 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 80.229.140.103