UNUSUAL. Toulouse also has its Juventus, immersion in the heart of the Papus football club
In the district of Papus, south-west of Toulouse, an atypical club has taken over the codes of the venerable Juventus of Turin. Immersion in a team like no other.
In Papus, we don’t really speak Italian. However, this popular district located in the south-west of Toulouse is reminiscent of the transalpine region of Piedmont. Not by its landscapes but rather thanks to its football club, directly inspired by the venerable Juventus of Turin. “One day in 1999, Salah Moussaoui, a neighborhood grandpa, a big fan of Juventus in the 90s, of Zidane, of Platini wanted to create a club in the heart of his neighborhood. It all started from there, ”we say today within the club. The district of Papus had an unoccupied land, it is now his club: Juventus of Papus.
The creator Salah Moussaoui did not do things by halves. In addition to being inspired by the name, he also took over all the codes that make the legend of the Italian club. Black and white colors, striped jersey, logo… Everything here recalls the emblematic Turin club in which David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Pierro and Gianluigi Buffon shone.
Since 2006, the Badaoui siblings have been responsible for protecting this heritage. Karim the older brother is in charge of the football school, Zahir is the coach of the first team while Mourad holds the position of president. “We want to keep the DNA of this club. A rooted club that brings life to the Papus district, located between the ring road and La Faourette. It takes energy, we leave a lot of time, but in the end it’s the passion that takes over, ”explains Zahir.
Italians sign in Papus
“At the very beginning, all three of us played as seniors, the club was in the neighborhood, at the lowest levels,” recalls Karim with a smile. Today, Juve is expanding to the highest regional level (R1), the stated objective of the Badaoui brothers when the club took over.
Inevitably, with a name like that, Juve leaves no one indifferent. Italian Erasmus students in Toulouse even registered there a few years ago, definable by the surname and the atmosphere that reigns there. Because if the Stade des Merlettes has nothing comparable to the Juventus Stadium in Turin, the fervor that reigns there on match days is however something to impress. On Sunday afternoon, when the “black and white” come out of the changing rooms, hundreds of residents of Papus crowd around the handrail. It is not uncommon to come across Bafodé Diakité there. The TFC defender grew up a few dozen meters from the Juventus clubhouse and comes as an observer to follow the matches of his brother, Sankoumba Kaba.
“You shouldn’t say it too much…”
“A very good player, very technical,” comments his coach Zahir, also a fervent supporter of Juventus “like all those who wear this jersey”. “Well, I also like Naples but you shouldn’t say it too much, it’s as if I were saying I like OM and I also like Paris”, laughs the coach.
A few meters away, in the management office, Karim scans the memorabilia hanging on the wall. Photos, articles and pennants recalling the epic of Juve and certainly the most beautiful adventure in the young history of the club. “We had reached the seventh round of the Coupe de France in 2013. We had lost against Béziers, but we had unforgettable moments”.
Big brothers in a popular neighborhood
Right next to it, a “volunteer of the month” diploma awarded by the French Football Federation to Karim Badaoui sits proudly on a shelf. “Ah, that one, I kind of deserved it,” smiled the winner humbly. It must be said that with 252 licensees, Juventus de Papus is no longer a simple neighborhood club. “We have a real educational role for the youngest in this popular district”, explain the leaders. A cap of big brothers to put the kids who scatter on the right path, even if it means “separating themselves from the bad apples if necessary”. But that’s not all. Very involved in a neighborhood where solidarity is not just a concept, the Badaoui brothers spared no effort during the first confinement. Karim says: “With the cessation of competitions, we missed football a lot. So we decided to help the neighborhood grandfathers and grandmothers. We do the shopping for them etc. »
Modest, the brothers do not prefer to dwell on the subject and talk about football again in the club house. Staying in Regional 1 is the goal of Juventus de Papus. And Sunday at 3 p.m., there is a match at Les Merlettes.