The White Makélélé

By: Inara | September 27th, 2007

Time for another player profile! This time I’ve selected Jeremy “La Toule” Toulalan because he’s currently one of the best OL players and also because I might be infatuated with him. But shhh, don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.

The midfield is a team’s engine, so when Mahamadou Diarra decided to leave for Real Madrid in 2006, Lyon were left with a gaping hole to fill in the heart of their team. Diarra was an integral part of four of Lyon’s title winning teams, so many felt that Diarra’s departure would weaken Lyon considerably.

But just as Tiago softened Michael Essien’s departure, Toulalan’s arrival ensured the club lost only a little bit of its momentum when they lost Diarra. In fact, one could even say that Toulalan brought qualities to Lyon’s midfield that were not there before.

A product of Nantes’ youth academy, he comes from a place that also produced such midfield gems as Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desaily, Christian Karembeu, and - you guessed it - Claude Makelele.

Toulalan is a very elegant player, one that is unafraid to make challenges and strong tackles (he collects between 7-11 yellow cards per season, and gets suspended two or three times as well). He’ll remind you of a terrier, always nipping at a player’s heels. He’s also surprisingly fast for such a solid and husky player, and is always at ease on the ball and deceptive to markers. At Nantes, he played more offensively, but at Lyon, he’s taken a more defensive role and usually patrols Makelele-esque in front of the back four. He’s also been working hard on his long passes, which have improved considerably. Some of his passes this season have been absolute beauties.

The strange thing about Toulalan is that despite having a powerful shot, he’s only scored one goal in L1 ever (and one for the U21s). In almost every game, he comes close, but either it just goes wide or the goalkeeper makes the save of the century. The last time he scored was in 2004!

“Oops, didn’t mean to clip you, but you’re in my way.”

In fact, his strong and steady displays, his simple but effective distribution, and his exceptional positional sense for Lyon and for France have prompted comparisons to both Deschamps and Makelele. While the tendency of the French to name any burgeoning talent as the “the new _____” can get annoying after awhile, in Toulalan’s case, it’s rather apt. When asked about how he feels about being compared to Deschamps and Makelele, he said:

“That’s pleasing to hear and if I win half as much as Deschamps won in his career I’ll be doing well. I’ve got time on my side but I want to be playing regularly for France as soon as possible. All I can do is play well for Lyon and hope that the rewards follow.”

And there have been plenty of rewards.

Toulalan graduated from the youth ranks and debuted in 2001 for Nantes, the incumbent L1 title winners (the last club to win before Lyon took over). That year also saw him debut in the Champions League against Bayern Munich. He would remain with Nantes for five seasons, and while there, he would be voted France’s best young player in 2005.

Lyon had actually approached Nantes that spring with an offer close to €10m, but Nantes refused because they wanted to keep their best player. Unfortunately for them, the following year saw them close to debt, and they had no choice but to sell Toulalan, this time for €7.5m.

TOU-LA-LA!!!

Toulalan’s arrival confirmed Mahamadou Diarra’s departure, but the club was unconvinced that Toulalan would be enough. Despite his stellar displays with France’s U21 team (he was the captain and was named on UEFA’s Team of the Tournament), Lyon recruited another defensive midfielder, Alou Diarra.

Everyone thought that the new Diarra would be the starter - after all, he got to play in the World Cup final! But Toulalan slotted in immediately and seamlessly, and his impact was so positive that Diarra featured only sporadically throughout the season - a situation which led to several bust ups between Diarra and Gerard Houllier, which eventually resulted in Houllier publicly saying that he preferred Toulalan. Ouch.

His progress caught the notice of Raymond Domenech, and pretty soon Toulalan began receiving regular call ups to the France NT, and what’s more, he’s been getting regular playing time. He’s pushed Rio Antonio Mavuba, Alou Diarra, Lassana Diarra, and Abou Diaby out of the pecking order and is the mostly likely player to start in Euro 2008 in the event that Makelele retires.

Playing with the big boys.

But though he’s frequently singled out for praise by the press, Toulalan insists his teammates deserve much of the credit for his smooth transition. He says,

“Obviously it’s far easier when you play in a team that is full of quality players. I just focus on my own role, then when I get the ball, it’s a matter of playing a short pass to a team-mate.”

He’s a modest and humble player, and despite his rather physical approach to the game, he’s a shy person who doesn’t talk much. Still, he’s been trying to speak out more often, something that caught Alain Perrin’s eye. Toulalan was even considered for the captaincy when Juninho stepped down. However, Toulalan has gotten the armband on quite a few occasions when Juni and Govou have been substituted, so it’s been doing wonders for his confidence.

So far this season, he’s been one of Lyon’s most consistent players and is part of Lyon’s future. He’s certainly laid to rest the theory that every successful French team needs an African DM. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be awarded with the captaincy in the next two or three years - should he stay that long. Let’s hope he does.

Watch a rare goal by Toulalan (at the 1:00 min mark).

Interesting facts:

* He’s not a football fan. He readily admits to not following any other teams, even as a boy, though he did have a poster of Romario in his room.

* When he has free time, he likes to take long walks and spend time with his wife Aurelie and his young baby daughter.

* His best friend is PSG goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, his former teammate at Nantes.

* Toulalan has been accused by both Jeremy Berthod and Landreau for being one of the worst dressed players.

* After his Lyon debut (against Nantes, ironically), Toulalan gifted Aulas with his jersey. After his France debut (against the Faroe Islands), Toulalan saved his jersey for his father.

* He’s only 24 but has already started graying around his temples.

Other profiles: Hatem Ben Arfa, Fred, Cris, Kim Kallstrom