Toulouse: the party was beautiful

It is not yet 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the Place de la Daurade resounds with the first chants, barely interspersed with the soft sound of crackling smoke. Under a scorching sun, in a neighborhood quite used to seeing Toulousian students take advantage of their Saturday afternoon to sunbathe on the banks of the Garonne, the party can begin. The few hundred fans who attended the call of the Indios Tolosa to parade to the Stadium – where TFC must face Nîmes – only have one idea in mind: to celebrate Téfécé’s third Ligue 2 champions’ title after the harvest in 1982 and 2003. An eternity. They are all proud of what their club has become, too long the subject of ridicule among Ligue 1 sides.

“Where did the bus go? »

The procession is starting. “We are Téfécé! » they shout in chorus. Everywhere the same smiles on the faces, the same emotion of living a moment in which they no longer really believed. “The fervor returns” ; “It’s so nice to find an audience” , we breathe at all levels of the procession. Behind the ultras, there are young people, families, not so young too, who parade in the midst of the commotion along the Garonne. Plus broken never. The songs follow one another and, along the way, the memories return: the last time such a procession left the city to reach the island of Ramier? Before receiving Liverpool, for a Champions play-off. More recent: the last game at home during the fantastic 2016 comeback against Troyes or OM’s reception in 2018 are still in the memory.

A good hour later, well wrapped up, the procession joins the crowd gathered on the bridge that adjoins the Stadium, awaiting the arrival of the players. A bus that fans are pleased to drown in a tide of smoke as soon as it appears. “Where did the bus go? » , we ask ourselves then, with stinging eyes and shortness of breath. She returned to the forecourt of the stadium, and the time has come to enter the arena. Facing the show, some are already planning: “We will never see that again, it is completely surreal. » And a bit fatalistic, too.

But no matter, the party promises to be beautiful inside the stadium too. A few minutes before the start of the game, the Indios de Tolosa send a message with a superb tifo to pay tribute to their hero. “Honor to the Champions of the City” we can read before Rhys Healey and company, represented as knights willing to defend their colors for the last time in this Stadium that has learned to beat in unison throughout their exploits.

And while Anthony Briançon tries to cool things down by opening the scoring, the twist doesn’t turn down the volume. Upon returning from the locker room, Ado Onaiwu equalized before the uncheck, which came from the foot of Denis Genreau. 27,000 spectators can rejoice as one man. Before storming the lawn, for the second time in two weeks. Therefore, it is concentrated on the green rectangle that the crowd attends the presentation of the trophy, brandished by Brecht Dejaegere. In the general jubilation, everyone prepares to leave with a souvenir: who a blade of grass, who a billboard, who a corner post…

A full purple capitol

Twenty-four hours, and a short night for some, later, there are a few thousand to come and enjoy a little more on the Place du Capitole. On this occasion, it is at 5:00 p.m. when the date is set to see the Violets present their trophy to the public. As soon as the search to access the square had elapsed, the first t-shirts “Champions 2021-2022” marketed for the occasion, they quickly find interest and the party can get going again. Leaving the Saint-Pierre square, the ultras landed with great fanfare to smoke the assistance. The Stadium, Compans-Caffarelli, the announcer is pleased to transcribe the route of the bus towards the center of the city, while the impatience is growing. “Every time there’s a celebration here, it’s for the Stade Toulousain, so to see the Place du Capitole in purple, you had to be there.” Florian is happy, he came to enjoy with two friends.

Everywhere, little ones flourish on the shoulders of parents delighted to be able to make them enjoy the moment. A subscriber since the club’s time at Nacional, Mathieu arrived with his family, all dressed in purple. “Yesterday we were at the stadium, but without the little one. At four years old he did not comehe explains. Today we are here on the friendly side. It is important to educate the little ones in the violet of Toulouse and not in other colors that we often see in Toulouse. He is happy to come, he is also very festive the next day. » The bus approaches and all the classics are sung from the stands of Toulouse: in the “Ah, ho, ho, ho, Branco! Branco! » followed by a magnificent “Healey’s on Fire” that no one intends to compromise.

“Not an End”

And suddenly, the bus enters the square, before the players and staff run towards the Capitol. Hilarious, the little band squeezes onto the balcony to come and unveil the trophy to an entire city in front of Jean-Luc Moudenc, who experiences pyrotechnics when Yanis Begraoui activates the fire alarm with a smoke bomb. “If he gets one, I’ll vote for him in three years!” » , let go in the crowd. The councilman will not do anything about it, but what else does he give: everyone benefits from the moment. Starting with Damien Comolli, who rushes to thank all these beautiful people for the emotions experienced together. “The adventure has only just begun” Philippe Montanier launches for his part, looking to the future.

The images speak for themselves! Thank you for your unconditional support throughout this wonderful season.#Still stands ? pic.twitter.com/K4WhaJDk8Q

— Toulouse FC (@ToulouseFC) May 8, 2022

Yes, the rest is on everyone’s mind. “We had to start all over again from the beginning.Florian continues. The rest is the transfer window, to see if all the important players stay. If there’s a good supporting draft, why not play in the top 10 at the very least? » The crowd is already slowly dispersing. Ruben, Sergio and Gaël are already sharing their impressions. The first two, with the Atlético shirt on their backs, vibrate for the first time in a city where they landed a few months ago for professional reasons, from Spain. “We’re not going to get the club’s logo tattooed on us, but it’s really very nice, things seem to be going very well” Ruben laughs. A regular at the Stadium since 2006, his friend Gaël is already looking ahead to next season. “For me it is not an end, all the people who are there have to stay to push the team next year, no matter what happens. We have always made fun of the Toulouse fans, it was a bit embarrassing to support this club. At the Brice Taton corner, I saw with my own eyes Batshuayi come to celebrate an OM goal, the stands were half purple and half blue. » What if those days were really over?