Toulouse Football Club's new head coach, Jens Berthel Askou, has opened his preseason with a draw and a win. Toulouse drew 1-1 with Ligue 2 side Rodez in Montauban on Saturday, July 25, then beat Spanish club Real Sociedad 2-1 in Tarbes on Friday, July 31.
The win over Real Sociedad carried extra weight. Toulouse had not won a preseason friendly in exactly two years. Their previous preseason campaign had been catastrophic, with two draws and four losses, including heavy 0-7 and 0-6 defeats to Leipzig and Stuttgart.
The club's last friendly win before this one came on July 31, 2024, in Navata, at the Torremirona complex, against Girona FC, a side that went on to play in the Champions League, where it lost 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain. Toulouse won that match with goals from Nicolaisen, Babicka, Aboukhlal and Gelabert, while Girona played the entire second half with ten men.
A System With Many Variations
Berthel Askou said he had not changed his tactical setup from his previous club, Motherwell. Observers have described Toulouse lining up in a 4-2-3-1, a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3, and even a 3-4-3 during the friendlies. He said the aim was to be dynamic, built on speed, strength, intensity and movement, and that opponents should struggle to work the team out.
Freedom Within a Framework
Askou said the team keeps a solid structure that every player must respect, whether moving the ball forward or back, playing in tight areas or through the middle of the pitch, and knowing when it is right to play long. Supporters got a glimpse of that range across the two friendlies, with more success over the weekend. Vossah showed quality in his forward runs, Casseres combined well alongside the back line, Gboho and Hidalgo linked up clearly, and left-footed Dönnum looked for depth whenever a run opened up.
Pressing and Building Play
Before the Real Sociedad match, Askou addressed the players in the locker room at the Maurice-Trélut stadium in a 30-second clip posted on the club's social media on Saturday evening. He told them they had trained well and that it was now time to show what mattered, urging them to apply themselves, support one another and hold firm. On the pitch, defenders were sharp, with captain Nicolaisen making no errors, midfield pairing Casseres and Vossah worked hard together, and Hidalgo fought for every ball up front.
Training Camp in Murcia
Toulouse's traditional team-building and competition camp across the Pyrenees follows next, this year in Murcia, in southeastern Spain, about 1,000 kilometres from Toulouse. The squad will be based at the Pinatar Arena complex from today until their departure next Saturday, August 8.
Two more matches will be played during the camp: against Al-Ain, reigning champions of the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday at 7pm, and against Elche, 15th in the last Liga season, on the final day of the camp at 10am. Askou said he expected the camp to consolidate the team's foundations while raising the tempo, and to enjoy good pitches against two strong opponents. He said it was not a matter of dreaming, even in Spain, but of being fully ready for the August 22 home match against Olympique Lyonnais.
"Very Happy" With Progress
Askou said he felt very good and that seeing the players progress, individually and as a team, delighted him. He urged the squad to keep growing together.
Young Players Get Their Chance
Three academy players made their first-team debuts against Real Sociedad, in this order: Nazihary Siaka, Darren Bique and Léo Frechingues. Siaka, 17, a right back, and Bique, 18, a central defender, both came on around the hour mark, in the 64th minute, while Frechingues, 17, a forward, entered in the 88th minute. They were three of 28 players used by the coaching staff across the two friendlies. Of the club's six new professionals, only forwards Amaaouch and Dardake featured.
