Toulouse meets Liverpool as part of the third day of the Europa League, Thursday at Anfield, 16 years after the double confrontation between the two clubs in the third preliminary round of the Champions League.
Sixteen years already. In 2007, Toulouse Football Club smelled of the Champions League for the first time in its history. Under oppressive heat, Téfécé welcomes Liverpool during the third preliminary round of the C1, on Wednesday August 15, 2007. The challenge promises to be immense for the Violets, third in the last French championship, facing the club five times winner of the cup in big ears at the time (Liverpool won a sixth C1 in 2019).
“It was unexpected and unhoped forconfides Elie Baup, TFC coach at that time, to franceinfo: sport. It had been 20 years since the TFC had been European. When there was the draw, we didn’t try to find out if we were going to pass or not. Playing Liverpool was huge, because it’s a prestigious, extraordinary team, an incredible football image. Such a prestigious opponent against TFC is wonderful and unimaginable.”
Before facing the Reds, André-Pierre Gignac’s teammates could already count on supporters present in large numbers at the Stadium, attracted by the light of a European qualification. The arrival of Liverpool would prolong the sweet euphoria, in a city more accustomed to vibrating for the exploits of rugby players. UA giant clock had been installed at the stadium some time before the match, with a counting down the days until “the Champions League does not make the Stadium vibrate”.
“A phenomenal enthusiasm”
Despite the unusual time of the match (4:30 p.m.) and the fact that this meeting was played on Wednesday August 15, TFC fans stormed the Stadium. “This match garnered phenomenal popularity in terms of subscriptions”, remembers Elie Baup. Subscribers had the opportunity to take places in advance and waited in front of the Téfécé store from 8 a.m., two hours before opening.
The wait was such that tickets were sold at breakneck speed and prices exploded on the black market. A corner seat initially cost 35 euros for this meeting, but tickets have passed the 100 euro mark on resale. Not enough to prevent the TFC from selling out.
“We would have sold this match ten times over, it was magnificent.”
Elie Baupat franceinfo: sport
Toulouse hoped to create a sensation against Steven Gerrard’s squad. “We approached this match with a lot of enthusiasm, because we were the surprise after our third place acquired the previous season”explains Elie Baup.
A difficult heat to manage
Ultimately, the Pitchouns did not have the weapons necessary to defeat the Reds. Liverpool won at the Stadium thanks to a nice goal from the Ukrainian rookie Andriy Voronin (0-1). Not helped by the fact of evolving under a blazing sun, Toulouse was never able to come back to score at the end of the match, despite good intentions. “It was very hot. With ten or fifteen minutes to go, it was very hard to accelerate.” explained central defender Mauro Cetto after the match, in La Dépêche du Midi.
:quality(50)/2023/10/25/000-par1463157-6538ca180ba83491109949.jpg)
Despite the defeat, this meeting left an unforgettable memory for the Toulouse president at the time, Olivier Sadran. Elie Baup could read the emotion in the eyes of the former TFC boss. “I have saw the president with terrible emotion, even after losing. Tears in my eyes with happiness at having been able to experience this.”
Today, Olivier Sadran is no longer the president of the club he led between 2001 and 2020. But he should follow, like thousands of supporters, the Pitchouns against Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool in the Europa League, Thursday at Anfield. Good memories of 2007.