Focus on Toulouse FC: a promoted player and athletic
Built to be successful in Ligue 1, the Toulouse team confirmed the hopes placed in it by showing great promise at the start of the season. Follower of 4-3-3, Philippe Montanier had his team evaluated at five defenders twice in the last three days.
The first outings of Téfécé have been positive. Athletic and able to hold the ball, the Violets are in the fight for their return to the French top flight. The last Ligue 2 champion very quickly impressed in physical intensity by dominating Nice in particular from the first day despite a draw (1-1). After five points gleaned from the first nine possible, Toulouse’s dynamic came to a halt in Nantes (3-1 defeat) following a non-match for the promoted player, who lacked an offensive edge that day. This is the main “weak point” of an inexperienced team which has also lost to the injury of its top scorer of the last season, Rhys Healey, as well as its detonator on the wings, Rafael Ratao. This poor performance led to a move to five defenders against PSG (J5) then against Reims (J7) last weekend, two teams which also play five behind. Against the Champenois, Toulouse obtained its second success of the season by winning one but to zero at home.
The alternation between 4-3-3 and 3-4-3
This tactical change (see below) had the primary objective of blocking the wings against a dangerous Reims team on the counter-attack. The usual Toulouse players marked the opposing pistons strictly, with success. This also resulted in a clean sheet. However, Toulouse were less comfortable with the recovery than usual. Goalkeeper Maxime Dupé multiplied the imprecise raises while Branco Van den Boomen, the usual organizer of the game, seemed too high on the ground. The decision was made on a transition carried out to perfection by the Toulouse attack line. Aligned on the left wing, the young midfielder Chaïbi provided a ball in the axis and found a relay with the striker Dallinga, to then serve Aboukhlal perfectly, clinic on the finish. The tactical change eventually paid off for a realistic TFC. Without forcing to win (draw against Nice and Lorient, defeat at Clermont during the penultimate), Toulouse has already shown more dominance in the game this season by playing in its usual 4-3-3. This system (see below) is akin to a 4-2-3-1 in the attacking phase with a freewheeler, Dejaegere, trying to combine quickly with the wingers and Dallinga to find gaps in small spaces. Further down, the technician Van den Boomen is a real weapon on long balls and benefits from the repeated calls in depth from the three attackers. This style of attacking play showed its limits against Clermont Foot, established in a low block, which trapped the TFC on the counterattack (2-0).
Van den Boomen, leader of an ambitious graduate
Trained at Ajax Amsterdam, Branco Van den Boomen retreated to the Dutch second division to launch his career. After three full seasons in Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the creative midfielder caught the eye of TFC, a big fan of prospects for minor championships in Europe since its descent into Ligue 2. Then aged 25, the Dutchman very quickly imposed in France, becoming the great leader of the Toulouse team, champion of the second French level last season. Aligned in a midfield position in the Toulouse 4-3-3, the “Dutch Kevin de Bruyne” completely exploded statistically by scoring 12 goals and 21 assists in the league, becoming at the same time the best passer on a Ligue 2 season. If the Toulouse number 8 has been an outstanding distributor of cakes since his arrival in France, the former FC Eindhoven player also displays a big athletic presence, even in Ligue 1. In midfield, Van den Boomen is the cornerstone of a playful and athletic team that can build strong ambitions for their return to the top flight.
After their setback in Marseille, LOSC want to revive at home against the promoted Toulouse, who are two points behind the Lille club. During its last trip to the North of France, Bafodé Diakité’s TFC lost three goals to nil two and a half years ago.