With Tuta missing (yellow card) for the return leg in Barcelona, it is likely to be Almamy Toure’s hour. The defender has hardly played a role in recent months. Can he get off to a cold start?
Coach Oliver Glasner has been without Toure’s services in the Bundesliga since the 1:1 in Augsburg on 16 January. Sometimes the defender sat on the bench, sometimes in the stands. The signing of Ansgar Knauff, who has established himself as a track player on the right in a 3-4-3, has made it even more difficult for the flexibly deployable Malian to get playing minutes.
At last Thursday’s game against FC Barcelona, of all teams, the time had come again. After Tuta’s yellow card, Toure came into the game in the 80th minute and showed a stable performance in the closing stages as a right-sided centre-back in the three-man backline.
The second leg at Camp Nou could now be Toure’s biggest test. Although it is also conceivable that coach Oliver Glasner will deploy Makoto Hasebe centrally in the three-man backline and Martin Hinteregger will take Tota’s place, that is not very likely. After all, Hinteregger excelled in the man-to-man duel against Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last Thursday. It would be risky to put the slower and less robust Hasebe on Aubameyang now.
That is why there is much to suggest that Toure’s hour has come. “Almamy has behaved extremely professionally in recent weeks and months, always working on himself, stepping on the gas in training and offering himself. The performance he put in last week is something he has worked for,” praises sporting director Markus Krösche.
Toure has the potential, but is too reckless
The big question is whether Toure, with so little match practice, is up to the big challenge against Barça. With his dynamism, physical robustness and passable technique, Toure undoubtedly has enough potential. But due to too many lack of concentration and careless mistakes, his breakthrough in Frankfurt has so far eluded him. The last time Toure played more than 90 minutes was on 27 January in the test in Mainz (1:0), where he ruined a decent impression with a carelessly caused penalty kick.
Under no circumstances should the 25-year-old allow himself such simple mistakes at Camp Nou. Should Glasner decide in favour of Toure, it would be a bit of a grab in the grab bag for the coach as well.