14 defeats and 34 years of waiting.. Yaya Toure inherits a disastrous record from Marseille in the Champions League
Yaya Toure has entered UEFA Champions League history for an unwanted reason after his Slovan Bratislava side suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Austrian club LASK on Tuesday 3 November 2026.
The result marked Slovan's 14th consecutive defeat in the Champions League proper surpassing the previous record of 13 straight losses held by French giants Olympique de Marseille.
For the former Ivory Coast captain, who became the first African coach to guide a team into the Champions League league phase earlier this season, the milestone represents a dramatic reversal of fortune.
The 43 year old also became the first coach to lose his opening four Champions League main phase matches by margins of at least three goals, highlighting the difficult start to his European managerial career.
Yaya Toure's Slovan Bratislava break Marseille's unwanted record
According to the Associated Press, Slovan Bratislava's defeat in Austria established a new record for the longest losing streak in the Champions League since the competition adopted its current name in 1992.
Marseille previously held the record with 13 consecutive defeats between March 2012 and November 2020.
However Slovan have now extended their remarkable sequence to 14 matches without a single victory or draw.
The Slovakian club's losing streak began in October 1992 when they suffered home and away defeats against AC Milan during the inaugural Champions League season.
They subsequently returned to the competition's main phase in 2024 /25 losing all eight of their league phase encounters.
This season, under Touré's leadership, Slovan have added another four consecutive defeats.
The sequence therefore consists of two losses in 1992, eight in 2024 /25 and four during the current campaign.
Importantly, the first ten defeats occurred long before Toure's appointment in June 2026 meaning the Ivorian inherited an already troubling European record.
Nevertheless, Tuesday's result officially placed his team at the top of an unwanted historical ranking.
Four defeats, 17 goals conceded: Toure's Champions League nightmare
Slovan's problems extend beyond their record breaking losing streak.
The Slovakian champions have endured a particularly difficult opening to the 2026 /27 Champions League league phase.
Their four results illustrate the scale of their struggles:
- Paris Saint Germain 6-1 Slovan Bratislava — 9 September
- Slovan Bratislava 0-3 Stuttgart — 14 October
- Roma 4-0 Slovan Bratislava — 20 October
- LASK 4-0 Slovan Bratislava — 3 November
Across those four encounters, Toure's side have conceded 17 goals while scoring just once.
Their goal difference of minus 16 further underlines their defensive difficulties against European opposition.
Slovan also became the first team in Champions League history to lose their opening four matches of a single campaign by at least three goals.
As Foot Africa previously reported, Toure had already expressed frustration following the heavy defeat to Roma, questioning his players' concentration and defensive mistakes.
The latest collapse against LASK suggests those problems remain unresolved.
What did Yaya Toure say after Slovan's 4-0 defeat?
The former Manchester City midfielder acknowledged his team's shortcomings following another difficult European evening.
Speaking after Tuesday's defeat, Toure admitted that Slovan had been unable to match their opponents' intensity.
"It's very difficult, to be honest" the Ivorian coach said, according to the Associated Press.
He also acknowledged LASK's greater aggression and suggested that his players had not shown enough determination to compete effectively.
Toure pointed to the demands of participating in multiple competitions, explaining that his squad had been dealing with a congested schedule and increasing fatigue.
The comments reflect the challenges facing a coach still experiencing his first season as the main man in charge of a professional club.
As Foot Africa reported when his appointment was confirmed, Toure took charge of Slovan Bratislava in June after previous coaching experiences in Ukraine, Russia, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.
His appointment had generated considerable optimism, particularly among African football supporters eager to see the former midfielder succeed at the highest European level.
From historic African achievement to unwanted European record
Touré's difficult Champions League campaign is particularly striking given how positively his coaching adventure began.
In August, the former Barcelona star guided Slovan Bratislava through the Champions League qualifying rounds, securing a historic place in the league phase.
As Foot Africa highlighted at the time, the achievement made Toure the first African head coach to lead a club into the competition's main league phase.
It was a landmark moment for African coaching representation in European football.
The Ivorian had previously enjoyed enormous success as a player, winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and collecting four consecutive African Footballer of the Year awards between 2011 and 2014.
He also played a central role in Ivory Coast's triumph at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, his transition to Champions League management has proved considerably more challenging.
The same competition that once provided some of his greatest achievements as a player has now delivered one of the most difficult periods of his developing coaching career.
Could Slovan Bratislava break another European record?
Slovan's current losing streak could become even more damaging if their results fail to improve.
Although their 14 consecutive defeats represent a record in the modern Champions League, the broader European Cup record still belongs to Luxembourg's Jeunesse Esch.
The Luxembourg club lost 16 consecutive European Cup matches between 1973 and 1987.
Slovan would equal that all time mark if they lose their next two Champions League encounters.
Toure's side are scheduled to host Real Betis on 24 November before welcoming Shakhtar Donetsk on 9 December.
Those matches therefore offer the Ivorian coach an opportunity to end the losing streak before his team matches another unwanted European record.
The pressure is also growing domestically, with Slovan sitting eight points behind unbeaten Slovak league leaders DAC Dunajska Streda.
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