The Toulouse Football Club is a big name in French women's football. In D2 for a few seasons now, the club of the pink city is trying to quickly reintegrate the elite. Current fifth in his group C 15 lengths of the leader, players Sylvain Delgado make a start to the season mixed. The coach of the TFC has also agreed to answer some questions about the situation of the club and the future of violets in the football landscape. Interview.

Football hearts: You took the first team in hand in January, how are you doing with girls?

Sylvain Delgado: "It's going well in spite of the results, the group is pretty close to the situation, there is nothing wrong with the players having a great state of mind."

CDF: What is the club's strategy to go up quickly in D1?

SD: "We rely on the training, we do not have the means like other D2 clubs do recruiting ... At the TFC there is no contract, no salary, no remuneration; It's been a very good training since 3-4 years now we have good young people coming out and who are selected with the EDF youth teams, we will rely on them and take the time to organize themselves to work. on a medium-term project and quickly find this elite. "

CDF: What is missing at a club like Toulouse to continue in the elite of the French women's football precisely?

SD: "A little bit of money to bring experienced players in. Afterwards, there is a project put in place, and then we can not fight against teams that put in. Because now women's football has changed. I see it this year in D2, the clubs do not hesitate to put contracts, to give a little fixed to recruit the players.Currently, the TFC can not do. "

CDF: Is professional status compulsory for a club that has the ambition to develop?

SD: "I think that if you want to go up and stay there, you have to give yourself the means, after the training you do not have enough, you need the professional status to continue to progress".

CDF: Toulouse are currently fifth at 15 points from Olympique de Marseille, can we say that this is a first part of the season missed by the club?

SD: "Yes, even if it's pretty complicated with a group so young, we had two players injured in the Crusaders, our captain who takes five contests, a pretty heavy penalty for the facts ... and two other executives who "We have to do with a rejuvenated group that is learning at this level, we knew it would be complicated in a championship with six runs in which all the points are important."

CDF: What were the goals you set for yourself with the staff and the players before the start of this season?

SD: "When we saw the recruitment of clubs like Olympique Marseille, Dijon or Grenoble-Claix, we knew it would be complicated, but we had the ambition to be in this small group of four. embarrassing, we will hinder but now we must quickly ensure the maintenance because chaining 2-3 bad results can quickly end up in the red zone.After if we can make interesting performances against the first three we will not deprive No, especially since we have already achieved good performances against OM and Grenoble.We have a very playful team but very nice too.We play well ball but it is not enough, it lacks the aggressiveness. once again it's learning it's going to happen we'll be fast, we see a good evolution in the field. "

CDF: What did you miss in this first half of the season to be in contact with clubs like Dijon, Grenoble or OM?

SD: "What we are lacking is our realism in front of the goal against Grenoble in 5 minutes we must lead one or two to zero, then we miss and we start to doubt, we rush and thwart ... Against Nivolas, it's the same problem, we have the actions but now, it's still pretty sterile for the moment, so we'll have to work on this point. "

CDF: Do you think training is enough today in women's football?

SD: "No it will not be enough, it will be even worse next year with the reform of the D2, the championship will be tightened.We now see more and more D1 girls who agree to come play in D2 with The training is good because they know our philosophy of play, but if there is no experience and the players who come to join the group to improve it will be complicated.The training has its limits. "

CDF: Mathilde Bourdieu is only 16 years old and already one of your most used players. Do not you think that this offensive sector requires a little more experience?

SD: "That's for sure, but in front of Marie-Pierre Casteira (note: 9 goals) to help her who finished last season second scorer with 24 goals, she is one of the group's executives who help our After Mathilde has the talent to play, she's young, but she's doing some good things in the French team, it's a complicated league in terms of contacts and physical demands, and she already has facilities like Other D2 players like Caputo and Laplacette from OM It's true that on a few strokes Mathilde lacks a bit of experience but we are happy with her performances, so for her progression to play at this level is beneficial, is a harder game with players who do not hesitate to "go back" on each contact.It has no place in U19 the level is too low for this kind of players.It is an apprenticeship to all levels but it brings its grain of madness that is good for the group. "

CDF: Is the reform of D2 beneficial for women's football?

SD: "Yes and no, not because it's too much of a sudden, we're going to lose a lot of clubs that have been in D2 in our pool for three years and that, if they go down, will not recover. It was too brutal for the clubs to acclimatize themselves and give themselves the means to save themselves, and then, at the moment, we see the D2 clubs that go up to D1 and that are completely lost so now we're going Ask the clubs to organize themselves more and more to avoid that the three promoted systematically down.The championship will be very interesting next season even if the reform a little bit distorts the current championship.The teams look more ranking than game production. It's a year of transition that hurts women's football at the level of the game because apart from 2 or 3 teams, it's still difficult ... Many teams forget to play. "

CDF: We see that with this reform precisely, the TFC is therefore at four small points of the first relegation Nivolas. Are you confident for the second half of the season?

SD: "We do not look behind but we are not confident either We will take the games one after the other We are in the attitude of winning every game without looking at the results of other teams. that we have to do, everything can go very quickly, we will do the accounts at the end. "

CDF: The TFC is one of the historic clubs of women's football in France, do you particularly feel it? Is the wait longer?

SD: "Yes, a lot of people are telling us about it, they are asking us to come back to the elite, we are working with our means, it takes a bit of time, but women's football has evolved, you have to be aware of it. this ambition to go up for fans and for the club.Before Lyon and Paris, there was also Toulouse in France. "

CDF: And finally, what can we wish you for the rest of the season?

SD: "Personally, to get as soon as possible this maintenance.It is the most important.The girls really deserve it.And then ... try to go up quickly and especially to stay!"

Photo credits: http://www.tfc.info/