Toulouse FC coach Philippe Montanier hailed his side after they crushed FC Nantes 5-1 in Saturday’s Coupe de France final, saying they would “go down in the history of the competition”.
“It was a fantastic performance by the players and it brings us so much joy to share this with the club and the Capitole,” said Montanier, referring to the landmark building in the heart of Toulouse which is now the city hall and where fans are expected to gather to celebrate the triumph.
“I’d like us to go back to the Capitole and then get some sleep after that because we have to play on Tuesday but I am not sure anyone will listen to me this time. We wanted to mark the history of the club but we will maybe go down in the history of the competition with that scoreline.”
Toulouse were 4-0 up after just 31 minutes at the Stade de France thanks to a brace from Logan Costa and two more goals from prolific Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga. Zakaria Aboukhlal got the fifth late on after Ludovic Blas had pulled one back from the penalty spot for Nantes.
Asked if he could have imagined such a start to the game, Montanier replied: “No because Nantes had enjoyed a good run. They eliminated Lens and Lyon, which is not to be sniffed at. The fact we scored early, and that Nantes were fragile at that point, helped us. We were expecting Nantes to start strongly and the fact we were ready for the worst set us up well.”
Headed for Europe?
With Toulouse seemingly safe from the threat of relegation in the league, the pressure will be off for the midweek meeting with RC Lens at Le Stadium. The big question now surrounds whether they will be able to take their place in the UEFA Europa League next season. They have the same owners – RedBird Capital Partners – as Italian giants AC Milan, who are themselves on course to be involved in European competition in the coming campaign.
“That is a question for the president. I only focus on matters on the pitch and that is hard enough. We will savoir this and we will consider the consequences later. We are talking about something that has not yet been confirmed,” said Montanier.
The response from club president Damien Comolli was emphatic.
“I will make it my personal commitment that the club will be in Europe next season,” he said.
