LASK professional Taoui played for Toulouse in front of 50,000 fans

Adil Taoui has often been asked about FC Toulouse in the past few days: When LASK meets the French Cup winners in the Europa League on Thursday, there will be a duel with his youth club. The 22-year-old Frenchman, who is currently out due to a torn cruciate ligament, was on the ball at Toulouse between 2015 and 2021.

Taoui went through the youth department and made his debut in Ligue 1 for the purple-whites in February 2020 against Strasbourg (0-1). The second appearance was “at the Vélodrome at Olympique Marseille in front of more than 50,000 spectators. That was very special,” remembers the eight-time French youth national team player.

Toulouse without inhibitions

Its premiere came during what was probably the club’s most difficult phase in the recent past: in the 2019/20 season, which was canceled due to Corona, the club was relegated from the city of 500,000 inhabitants. Taoui: “The team was in a difficult situation, so it was difficult for a young player to show what he can do. I still tried to always do my best.”

Two years later he returned to Ligue 1. What has changed since he left? “The team has gone through a change since I moved to LASK. I still know a few players in the team and continue to see almost all the games. It is a fairly young team that plays without inhibitions. Youth brings both good and challenging things with yourself.”

Similar to LASK, the opponent’s team is the star: “The team mostly lives from the collective performance.” He definitely believes his team can pull off a surprise: “We have to try to stay focused throughout the game, then it will certainly be a duel on equal terms and we can take something away.”