Yaya Toure knows, from his own painful experience, that football can be a matter of life or death.<\/p>\n
For the Manchester City midfielder, the World Cup in Brazil offers much more than a chance for Ivory Coast\u2019s golden \u00adgeneration to finally deliver on their potential for greatness.<\/p>\n
It will be about healing a nation still deeply scarred by two civil wars.<\/p>\n
Toure, whose family were caught up in some of the fiercest fighting when government troops clashed with rebels in the city of Abijan, is well aware of the unifying force that \u201cLes Elephants\u201d have become over the last decade.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cFor many years, football has played a big part in the lives of the people. Life during the war was so difficult for everyone. Conditions were bad, life was tough, and we just wanted to give our people some happiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aim of the team has always been to play together and to make the people of the Ivory Coast feel happy and proud about our country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say to them, \u2018Enjoy the way we play football, don\u2019t think about the war\u2019. Of course, that is good. It makes you feel proud. But it also puts you under a lot of pressure every time you play for your country.<\/p>\n