Handball – Fenix Toulouse: Maxime Gilbert, the conductor has become a chief of defense
The Fenix centre-half showed great defensive skills in the central sector against Winterthur. To be continued on Friday March 4, against Chartres.
We praise, with good reason, the choices and tactical options of Danijel Andjelkovic and his staff since the start of the season. Last Tuesday, during the confrontation against the Swiss of Winterthur (34-27), they once again showed their know-how in this area by not hesitating to reposition Maxime Gilbert at the heart of the Toulouse defense, on the so essential post 3 .
In the absence of Luka Sokolic (he should not return until after the international break), and to give Fredric Pettersson a breather, it was therefore the center half of Fenix who played the entire second period in chief of defense . A winning bet given the good defensive efficiency of Toulouse who extinguished the Swiss attack (only 11 goals in the second half).
Half-center of training, renowned for his offensive game and his qualities as a playmaker, Maxime Gilbert lived up to this unprecedented positioning for him. “It’s true that playing in position 3 is a new role for me. But given the calendar, the sequence of matches, we have to find solutions to compensate for certain absences, “says the interested party, not unhappy with this experience:” It is very educational to find yourself in this key position. I put myself there for the balance of the team but it is a position that requires experience and automation. »
“Charters? It sent the trap”
At 30, he takes up this new challenge with enthusiasm: “It shows that I can be used almost everywhere and then it is a great mark of confidence on the part of the staff to position me there. »
Maxime Gilbert is ready to take on this role of defender once again. Faced with Chartres, this evening, for an important match in the running table of Fenix, he is more than ever on his guard: “This confrontation will allow us to see if we have grown. Trap matches like this, we have seen in the past. We are capable of winning against the big teams, in Nîmes, Aix or against Berlin, but Chartres, that sent the trap if we do not do the necessary entry. »