Toulouse FC

Toulouse
Full name Toulouse Football Club
Nickname(s) Le Téfécé
Les Pitchouns
Les Violets
Short name TFC
Founded 1970 (1970)
Ground Stadium Municipal
Capacity 33,150
Chairman Olivier Sadran
Manager Alain Casanova
League Ligue 1
2017–18 Ligue 1, 18th
Website Club website

Toulouse Football Club, also known simply as Toulouse or (especially locally) TFC, is a French association football club based in the city of Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium Municipal located within the city. The first team is managed by Alain Casanova.

Les Pitchouns have won Ligue 2 on three occasions and 1 Coupe de France.[1] Toulouse have participated in European competition five times, including in 2008 when they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time.[2]

Toulouse is presided over by the French businessman Olivier Sadran, who took over the club following its bankruptcy in 2001 which resulted in it being relegated to the Championnat National. The club has served as a springboard for several players, most notably the World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and international striker André-Pierre Gignac.[3]

History

Former logo, used between 2010 and 2018.
Toulouse fans celebrate qualifying for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League

The city was left without a big side in 1967 when Toulouse FC sold its players and place in the French top flight to Paris outfit Red Star, but three years later a new club, Union Sportive Toulouse, rose from the ashes. Adopting red and yellow jerseys, the club started out in Ligue 2 and in 1977 reclaimed the name Toulouse FC. Now wearing purple and white, Les Pitchouns gained top-flight promotion in 1982. A side containing Jacques Santini and Swiss forward Daniel Jeandupeux earned a famous penalty shoot-out victory against Diego Maradona's Napoli in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup, Toulouse's maiden European campaign, but it failed to herald a bright new era. Instead, with goalkeeper Fabien Barthez having made his breakthrough and moved on, Toulouse were relegated in 1994. They subsequently bounced back and forth between Ligues 1 and 2 before slipping to the third flight in 2001 after financial problems. Toulouse were back in the top flight two seasons later, steadily finding their feet before a memorable 2007 campaign when they finished third to earn a place in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. The draw was unfavourable, however, and Liverpool overpowered them 5–0 on aggregate.[2]

In the second match of the 2007–08 season, Toulouse beat the Olympique Lyonnais 1–0 at the Stadium Municipal with a goal from Johan Elmander. After the victory against Olympique Lyonnais Toulouse struggled all season to avoid relegation. Their Ligue 1 place was finally secured on the last day of the season with a 2–1 home win against Valenciennes. The 2008–09 season marked unexpected success for Toulouse. The club finished fourth in the Ligue 1 table with 64 points, and secured a spot in the new Europa League. After a difficult season the previous year in which the club struggled to avoid relegation, not much was expected of Toulouse. The 2008–09 season also marked the emergence of striker André-Pierre Gignac, who led all scorers in Ligue 1 with 24 goals and was awarded a call-up to the French national team.[3]

In the 2015–2016 Ligue 1 season, Toulouse avoided relegation to Ligue 2 in the last game of the season. With 12 minutes to go, Toulouse were behind to Angers 2–1 and needed a win to survive. Toulouse then went on to score two late goals and win the match 3–2. [4] Toulouse finished 13th in 2016/2017. In the 2017/2018 season, Toulouse finished 18th which meant the club needed to play in the two legged promotion/relegation playoff with Ligue 2 side Ajaccio. Toulouse ended up winning the tie 4-0 on aggregate.[5]

Name changes

  • Union Sportive Toulouse (1970–77).[2]
  • Toulouse Football Club (1977–).[2]

Stadium

Toulouse playing Lille at the Stadium Municipal

Toulouse play their home matches at the Stadium Municipal. Built in 1937, the stadium presently has a capacity of 33,150. The stadium was used as a venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.[3]

Colours

The violet is a reference to one of two Toulouse nicknames: la Cité des violettes (the City of Violets), the second one being la Ville rose (the Pink City), which explains the colour of former alternate jerseys.[2] The team's logo displays the gold and blood-red Occitan cross, the symbol of Occitania, of which Toulouse is a historical capital.[3]

Club rivalries

Derby de la Garonne

The Derby de la Garonne is a derby match between Girondins de Bordeaux and Toulouse. The derby derives from the fact that Bordeaux and Toulouse are the two major clubs that play in cities that situate themselves along the Garonne River. The consistency and competitiveness of the rivalry developed following Toulouse's return to Ligue 1 after being administratively relegated to the Championnat National in 2001.[6]

Players

Current squad

As of 11 September 2018.[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Uruguay GK Mauro Goicoechea
2 France DF Kelvin Amian
4 France MF Yannick Cahuzac
5 France DF Steven Moreira
6 France DF Christopher Jullien (captain)
7 Ivory Coast MF Max-Alain Gradel (vice-captain)
8 France FW Corentin Jean
9 France FW Yaya Sanogo
10 Belgium FW Aaron Leya Iseka
12 Guinea DF Issiaga Sylla
14 Togo MF Mathieu Dossevi
15 Trinidad and Tobago MF John Bostock
16 France GK Marc Vidal
17 Ivory Coast MF Ibrahim Sangaré
No. Position Player
18 Cape Verde DF Steven Fortès
20 Burkina Faso DF Steeve Yago
21 Sweden MF Jimmy Durmaz
22 Spain MF Manu García (on loan from Manchester City)
23 France MF Yann Bodiger
24 Democratic Republic of the Congo FW Firmin Ndombe Mubele
25 Cameroon DF Stéphane Mbia
28 France FW Hakim El Mokeddem
29 Switzerland DF François Moubandje
30 France GK Baptiste Reynet
31 France FW Derick Oseï Yaw
33 France MF Jean-Clair Todibo
— France DF Mathieu Goncalves
— France FW Adil Taoui

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
France DF Clément Michelin (on loan to Ajaccio)
France MF Quentin Boisgard (on loan to Pau)
France MF Alexis Blin (on loan to Amiens)
No. Position Player
France MF Jessy Pi (on loan to Brest)
France FW Andy Delort (on loan to Montpellier)

Honours

As of 21 August 2013.[1]

Domestic

Club officials

The Board

President Olivier Sadran
Association President José Da Silva
Manager Alain Casanova
Academy Director Rémy Loret

Source:LFP.fr

Managers

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Toulouse football club". LFP. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Toulouse FC". UEFA. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Wiki". TFC.info. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Bairner, Robin (14 May 2016). "Extra-Time: Toulouse troll Domino's Pizza after relegation escape". Goal.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Toulouse confirm Ligue 1 survival". Ligue1.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "Didot-Gourcuff, le duel breton du derby de la Garonne" (in French). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Effectif pro". tfc.info. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

Further reading

  • Toulouse Football Club, de 1937 à nos jours, de Jean-Louis Berho et Didier Pitorre, avec la collaboration de Jean-Paul Cazeneuve et Jérôme Leclerc (Éditions Universelles)
  • La Grande Histoire du TFC, de Nicolas Bernard (Éditions Universelles)
  • TouFoulCan, la Bande-dessinée qui supporte le Toulouse Football Club.
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