Kianga credits Yaya Toure for Champions League breakthrough with Slovan Bratislava

South African forward Manasseh Kianga says Slovan Bratislava head coach Yaya Toure helped define his role at the club before he scored a dramatic late winner on his UEFA Champions League debut.

Kianga, 24, joined the Slovakian champions shortly before the start of the new season and has made an immediate impact, registering three goals and two assists in his first five appearances.

Toure initially spoke to Kianga about the position in which he felt most comfortable before deciding that the right wing would offer the best opportunity to use his qualities.

“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.”

Kianga had to adapt quickly after arriving at a club competing at the highest level of Slovakian football. He had joined the squad with limited time to prepare, while competing for a place alongside a number of established players.

His route to Slovan Bratislava has been unconventional. The former Black Aces Academy player left South Africa for England at the age of 17, but work-permit problems prevented him from reaching the professional game there and he instead played non-league football.

He later moved into Slovakian football with Locomotive Kosice in the third tier. In less than a year, he had progressed to the country’s biggest club.

Although his early performances impressed, Kianga accepted that he would need to wait for his chance because he had spent far less time with the squad than his team-mates.

That was made clear before Slovan Bratislava’s UEFA Champions League qualifying match in Sweden, when Toure told him he would begin on the substitutes’ 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.”

When his opportunity arrived, Kianga made an immediate difference. Coming on as a substitute, he scored the winning goal in the 90th minute as Slovan Bratislava defeated Mjallby and advanced to the final qualifying round.

“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.

Toure quickly praised the forward for his contribution and suggested he had expected Kianga to play a significant part, even if only for a short period.

“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 Bratislava will now meet NK Celje over two legs for a place in the UEFA Champions League league phase. The first leg is scheduled for this evening at Tehelne Pole, with kick-off at 21:00.