Former England and Man City Defender Reflects On The Lasting Influence Of African Legends In England’s Top Flight
In another instalment of Completesports.com’s exclusive interview series spotlighting the enduring legacy of African football greats who shone in the Premier League, former England and Manchester City defender Danny Mills has made glowing tributes to Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure and Lucas Radebe, highlighting their defensive brilliance, leadership qualities, and transformative influence on English football.
In the exclusive interview supported by WhichBookie, Mills, who starred for Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Manchester City and England during his playing career, spoke at length about what made these African stars special and why their contributions to the English game should never be forgotten.
Kolo Toure: The Arsenal Invincible Who Anchored Title Challenges
Kolo Toure, the Ivorian centre-back, was a pillar of Arsenal’s famous ‘Invincibles’ side of 2003/04, before going on to play a key role in Manchester City’s early title-winning years. With 120 caps for Côte d’Ivoire and spells at Arsenal (2002–2009), Manchester City (2009–2013) and Liverpool (2013–2016), Toure was a stalwart defender renowned for his resilience and consistency.
Reflecting on facing Toure during his Arsenal days, Mills recalled the formidable defensive unit the Ivorian was part of:
“Kolo Toure was in the invincible Arsenal team. That season they did lose to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup or League Cup – it was then. No, I’m just teasing really.
“Kolo Toure was just a very, very good defender, you know. That Arsenal team was sensational, you know that.
“I think Lauren [Bisan-Etame Mayer] was the right-back. Kolo Toure, Martin Keown – predominantly or soul there probably at the time, yeah. Ashley Cole, was in that team? Probably, yes. I mean that’s a hell of a defence. You know, you try getting past that?”
Kolo Toure: An Example In Art of Defending – Mills
Mills stressed that while modern football often praises ball-playing defenders, Toure’s craft was rooted in the pure art of defending:
“Kolo was a very good defender, you know, unbelievably. He was a defender that defended and stopped people scoring goals.
“I mean, you wouldn’t believe it in this day and age, you know, that arts, that scenes doesn’t seem to exist anymore. He could play a little bit, but that isn’t his job, you know. His job was to mark people, was to stop people.
Mills Draws Parallels Between Kolo Toure And Lucas Radebe
Danny Mills, who shared the dressing room at Leeds United with South African legend Lucas Radebe, drew comparisons between the former Bafana Bafana captain and Kolo Toure.
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Mills Hails Adebayor’s Power, Kanu’s Genius – Recalls Fierce Era of African EPL Greats
“I obviously played with Lucas Radebe [at Leeds United]. He was obviously a little bit older. But Lucas was like a rash. You could not get past him. He was all over you. And I think Kolo Toure was probably in that same mould.
You know, players coming out of Africa had a similar mentality. You know, they were there to do a job. They were there to stop you scoring at all. They were incredibly ‘hungry’.
They were physical. Their desire to stop you was greater than anything else on the planet, and they were incredibly good at it. And he [Toure] was no different. I think he got better obviously as he got better on the ball, but yeah, just an incredibly good defender.”
Radebe himself enjoyed a glittering Premier League career with Leeds United (1994–2005), making over 200 appearances. A two-time FIFA World Cup captain with South Africa, winner of the 1996 AFCON, and a national icon, he was beloved by fans at Elland Road for his leadership and consistency.
Yaya Toure: The Midfield General Who Transformed Manchester City
Mills also heaped praise on Kolo’s younger brother, Yaya Toure, who played a transformative role at Manchester City during their rise to the top. The younger Toure made 230 Premier League appearances for City between 2010 and 2018, scoring 62 goals – many of them decisive in big matches.
“Well, and obviously, Yaya Toure came into that as well. Yeah, he wasn’t bad, was he? He was quite good. But, you know, one of the best. Again, I think he’s forgotten as well, almost. You know, one of the best. Probably one of the best players in the Premier League that we’ve seen in terms of influence on what happened at that time.”
Building Man City’s Winning Culture
The former England full-back explained that players like Kolo and Yaya were instrumental in building the winning culture at Manchester City – paving the way for the dominance the club enjoys today.
“But you need, when you’re playing – when you’ve never won anything – you need players around you with experience that have one or two. You need evidence that you’re doing works. And I think that’s what they brought to Manchester City.
Also Read: Kolo Toure Joins Pep Guardiola’s Coaching Crew At Man City
“You know, they brought a culture that if we do this, we win because when you haven’t won, well, let’s keep doing this. But we don’t really know that it works because we’ve never seen it work.”
The Import of Having Experienced Players – Mills
“And then you get experienced players come in that have won trophies and been successful and say, ‘no, no, trust me, if we keep doing this, it will work. And we will win stuff off the back of this.’
And I think, again, people sometimes underestimate the value of those senior players and the experience that they can bring in not just when they’re playing week in, week out – the experience they have on the training ground – the talking to the other players, the talking to the younger players: ‘And look, this is how we do things. This is why we are doing things. And if you keep believing the process, I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, it works.’
And I think that’s a huge, a huge part in a club going from being nearly winning something and to winning something again, again and again.”
African Greats Who Left A Lasting EPL Legacy
For Mills, the hunger, resilience and leadership shown by Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure and Lucas Radebe encapsulate why African players are revered in the Premier League.
Each left a profound legacy – from Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ to Manchester City’s title revolution and Leeds United’s proud history – their names remain etched into English football rich history.
By Nnamdi Ezekute
