Toulouse, the data club back in the elite

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This time it’s the right one. He had just missed the mark last year. Two years after a catastrophic season in which it finished dead last in Ligue 1 with 13 points (a record), Toulouse Football Club is back in the top flight. And he has changed a lot. Bought by an American investment fund in 2020, Téfécé walked in Ligue 2 in 2021-22. Crowned champions, the people of Toulouse have modernized their training, analysis and recruitment methods thanks to data. For their return, the Violets are ready to fight. They will start the championship at home against Nice on Sunday August 7 at 1 p.m..

The objective: better than maintenance?

Coached by Philippe Montanier, Toulouse FC coming out of a full season. Undisputed champions of Ligue 2 with 79 points, the Toulouse lost only five games, having the best attack (82 goals, record over one season) and the second best defense. A climb warmly celebrated by the supporters.

With such a record, the club can aim not to take the elevator. To achieve this, the TFC has based its sports policy on data since its takeover. At the base of this revolution, Julien Demeaux, data football manager.

This former aeronautical engineer applies his methods in particular in the recruitment of players: “We cover around sixty different leagues. We pass the players through our algorithms and that will allow us to fully understand what a player does well, what he does less well… We rely on data to make consistent decisions. It also helps us find players who are undervalued by the market for X reasons.”he explained in Ouest France.

The player to watch: Branco van den Boomen, the emblem of the data revolution

Arrived at the club 2 years ago, Branco Van den Boomen (26 years old) is the symbol of the new Toulouse recruitment method: “We entered performance indicators into our algorithm. A list of players came out, including Branco van den Boomen” club president Damien Comolli told SoFoot.

The midfielder scored 12 goals in Ligue 2 last year and provided 20 assists. A specialist in set pieces and a hub for the Haut-Garonne, the Dutchman is combative, regular, and important in the game.

The recruit: Thijs Dallinga, the Dutch nugget

Data analysis software led the Violets to set their sights on Thijs Dallinga during this off-season. He is only 21 years old, and comes out of a single full season in the Eerste Divisie (the second division of the Netherlands). That did not prevent Toulouse from buying it for 2.5 million euros from Excelsior Rotterdam. His record: 36 goals scored in 43 games, a record for the Eerste Divisie. Thijs Dallinga may be TFC’s newest diamond in the rough. It only asks to shine.

The 11 kind

Dupé – Sylla, Nicolaisen, Rouault, Desler – Spierings, van den Boomen, Dejaegere -Rafael Ratão, Healey, Dallinga.


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