Toulouse wants to mark its return to Ligue 1
Toulouse FC will be back in Ligue 1 Uber Eats in 2022-23 after winning the Second Division title with a cosmopolitan side, and the Violets will be hoping to impact their return to the top flight.
Toulouse were in the top flight for 17 years before being relegated in the pandemic-scarred 2019-20 season, and a lot has changed from the banks of the Garonne. Last year, the club narrowly failed to move up to Ligue 1, losing away in a play-off against FC Nantes, a setback that resulted in coach Patrice Garande being fired. He was replaced by Philippe Montanier, and under the former Stade Rennais and RC Lens coach, Toulouse experienced an outstanding season.
They won the Ligue 2 title by a four-point margin over AC Ajaccio, with a record 82 goals scored – in comparison, Ajaccio scored just 39 and the division’s second-best attack scored 61 but.
“It was essential”, Montanier told L’Equipe about the importance of the promotion. “It was the first chosen in the attributions of the president. We had to win promotion, and do it by playing good football, scoring lots of goals. I think we did well. “
A Data-Driven Approach to Scouting
What has made headlines at Toulouse is their approach to signing players, with chairman Damien Comolli – the former sporting director of Tottenham Hotspur, AS Saint-Étienne and Liverpool – favoring a heavy reliance on players. data.
“We have the right to lose but we have no right not to prepare to win. With our methods, we try to get rid of the uncertainties and irrationality that exists in football as much as possible.Comolli told L’Equipe.
“It will not change between Ligue 2 and Ligue 1. All our decisions will be determined on the same statistics except that now we will have more financial means and therefore access to other players. But we still won’t be able to get players in the Premier League or the Bundesliga.”Comolli continued, pointing out that their database allows for 70 different leagues. “I think there are over 40,000 players that we have it all on. Our scouting department is led by the former Brentford recruitment manager. The head of our data department comes from Airbus. He was building flight simulators. The person in charge of strategy is a woman with three MBAs and an economics degree.
Van den Boomen: Toulouse’s star player
This approach allowed Toulouse to build a cosmopolitan team that proved too strong for the rest of Ligue 2. The superstar was Branco van den Boomen, a Dutch midfielder signed in 2020 from second division De Graafschap Dutch. He finished that season with 12 goals and 21 assists, and was awarded Ligue 2 player of the year.
Rhys Healey, an England striker recruited from Third Division MK Dons, finished as the division’s top scorer with 20 goals. Support came from Japanese striker Ado Onaiwu, while Danish defensive duo Mikkel Desler and Rasmus Nicolais played their part, as did Stijn Spierings in another Dutch midfielder. Central defender Nicolaisen, for example, played in the English League One with Portsmouth in the 2020-21 season.
Van den Boomen was part of the team that narrowly missed out on promotion a year ago, before further changes to the squad and the appointment of a new manager secured success at the second attempt.
“Shortly after the play-offs, we changed coaches and a lot of new players arrived. This turned out to be a good strategy for moving on and starting over. It was really difficult for the two weeks after the games against Nantes, but after that it was time to move on and put it all behind us. did he declare.
American owners: a successful course
As for the presence of many different nationalities in its workforce, Montanier admits that “English is the language of the locker room. Much has been said about our use of data, but it is only one of the elements that help us make a decision. Branco van den Boomen has been identified for his tire qualities, but there is a whole process behind it. We watch videos, the club meets the families of the players, learns about their mentality.
The revolution in Toulouse began the day after their relegation in 2020, during these first months of Covid-19. Longtime owner Olivier Sadran sold the club to US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, which acquired an 85% stake. RedBird recently agreed a €1.3bn deal to buy Italian champions AC Milan, but Toulouse remain ambitious and hope to do more than survive in Ligue 1, four of whose teams will be relegated next season.
“Technically and tactically the players are better and more complete. I remain convinced that we can get through this, even if it will be more difficult with four teams going down. said Montanier, while former Ajax youngster Van den Boomen – an admirer of Dimitri Payet – hopes he can impress at the top level.
” I have confidence in myself. I have deteriorated a lot in recent years and I have improved each season. I think I’m ready for a new challenge now, to play at a higher level than in Ligue 2. I can’t wait to see how I will rate in Ligue 1,” did he declare.
Nicolas Depres