Liverpool legend, myth, defender, rock Kolo Toure turned 37-years-old on the 19th of March and this Twitter thread about him is life.
Toure joined the Reds from Manchester City in 2013 and hung around Anfield for three years, before departing north for Celtic and a glorious reunion with former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Despite becoming a bit of a figure of ridicule, the Ivorian played over 350 Premier League games, was an Invincible with Arsenal and formed the new-wave City backbone after he moved to Manchester for £16.83 million in 2009.
He also played 71 times for the Reds, only 30 less than he did for the Citizens despite being towards the end of his career.
Toure only played for the Bhoys for one season before retiring in 2017 after making just nine league appearances and is now on the coaching staff in the role of technical assistant, as per ESPN.
He will always have some level of cult following from Liverpool fans for his performances on Merseyside, both good and bad – often in the same game.
It's 2 February and LFC are holding on to 4th place. We're up a goal at The Hawthorns. Cue Kolo Toure: pic.twitter.com/mW6O9wHPyE
— B (@NTXZO) March 19, 2018
10 days later. Bottom of the table Fulham. A back-line of Mignolet, Flanagan, Skrtel, Aly Cissokho & The Man Himself.
— B (@NTXZO) March 19, 2018
This happens: pic.twitter.com/2V4nlzTBtV
... but a man of eternal joy and love cannot be held Dowd forever. His redemption was swift and complete - forever immortalized for one of the great moments in human history: pic.twitter.com/ygphiYCoTN
— B (@NTXZO) March 19, 2018
And that was just 10 days of our life with the man, the myth, the legend. Happy Birthday, Kolo Toure. pic.twitter.com/2N7Ot8zGdw
— B (@NTXZO) March 19, 2018
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And that’s the direction that this brilliant thread takes his happy birthday message as howlers against Fulham and West Brom are all brought back into play.
Although perhaps Toure should be remember for some of his best days – such as his glorious shackling of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League.
Certainly Liverpool’s defence looks a lot better under Jurgen Klopp than it did with Rodgers, although the four of Andrew Robertson, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are a lot more solid than the men Rodgers had at his disposal.
The Reds now have to wait two weeks before club fixtures resume again due to the international break – a time which is always anxious because of the ruinous habit of key players picking up injuries while representing their nations.
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Toure, who played over 100 times for the Ivory Coast, will be well aware of the highs and lows of such representation.