South African forward Manasseh Kianga has revealed how Slovan Bratislava head coach Yaya Toure helped shape his role at the club before handing him his UEFA Champions League debut.
Kianga, 24, who joined the Slovakian champions shortly before the start of the new season, says Toure immediately made an effort to understand his strengths and preferred position before settling on a role for him on the right wing.
The former Black Aces Academy player, who left for England at the age of 17, played non-league football in England, unable to rise to the professional ranks due to work-permit issues.
Having first moved to Slovakian football via the third tier at Locomotive Kosice, he’s swiftly risen to the biggest club in the country in less than a year, and has scored three goals with two assists in his first five games.
“He welcomed me well and asked me for my preferred position, he knew I could play as a striker or winger, he called me to the side and asked me about my favourite position, I told him I like being mobile, so I can play either,” he told iDiski Times.
“Yaya then said I’d be good as a winger, as a player who likes getting on the ball a lot, dribbled past my man and make things happen, so he preferred me as a winger, because as a striker your main job is finishing chances, but I like a bit of both creating and finishing, so he thought the right side would be best.”
The positional conversation came as Kianga attempted to settle into a new environment and compete for a place in a Slovan squad filled with established talent.
Despite making an impression, the South African understood that his limited time with the squad meant he would have to be patient.
That was particularly evident ahead of Slovan’s Champions League qualifier in Sweden, when Toure informed Kianga that he would start the game on the bench.
“I spoke to [the coach] before the UCL game in Sweden, he said I’m going to be on the bench because he’s not seen enough of me, every other player had a full pre-season with the whole squad and technical staff, I was there less than two weeks,” Kianga explained.
“So I didn’t take it in a bad way, I knew I’d have to wait for my time, I didn’t expect to start most games, as the squad is filled with quality players and I thought my time will come and when it does, I just have to take it.”
The big UCL moment
His opportunity eventually arrived; and Kianga made it count.
Introduced from the bench, the South African produced a decisive moment by scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute, turning what had already been a significant European debut as they progressed the the final qualyfing round after beaing Mjalby.
“It was a crazy feeling to score the winner in the 90th minute,” he said.
“He told me I need to come on, make a difference and score a goal, so once I did that, I was just so, so, happy,” he said.
The goal also appeared to strengthen the relationship between the rising star forward and his new coach, with Toure immediately acknowledging the impact Kianga had made from the bench.
“He came to me and said well done, I knew that you would play an important role, even if it was just 10 or 15 minutes, but you did well and that’s what I like in players.”
Slovan will now face NK Celje over two legs for a place in the league phase, with the first leg scheduled for this evening at Tehelné Pole (21h00).