Toulalan Wanted To Be a Pastry Chef. Seriously.

By: Inara | February 25th, 2008

Faithful reader Marielle sent me an article on Jeremy Toulalan that was published in the Libération this morning. It’s one of the few articles that shed light on Toulalan, who is probably Lyon’s most media shy and taciturn player. Despite playing like a bulldog with four lungs on the pitch, you’ll hardly ever see him open his mouth - unless it’s to protest a yellow card.

Affectionately called “La Toule” by many of the Gerland faithful, he’s the most unselfish player you’ll ever see and also one of the least appreciated, his teammates and coaches notwithstanding. He’s also my favorite Lyon player this season, hands down. I’ve waxed about his attributes in his player profile, so I won’t do it here.

If there is one criticism I have of Toulalan, it’s his tendency to pick up yellow cards like a little girl picks buttercups in a meadow. He’s not a violent player by any means, but he gets a little too enthusiastic sometimes. He’s already received nine yellows this season so far, including two cards in his last three league matches.

So if he gets one more in the next seven games (which he will), he’ll be suspended for a match, despite having just sat out a similar suspension a few weeks ago. But the good news is that he hasn’t gotten carded in the Champions League yet. Last year, Toulalan had to miss Lyon’s second leg quarter final against Roma. And we all know how that turned out.

“Juste Milieu” talks about how Toulalan began his career in football. He wanted to be a pastry chef because he loved seeing people make things with their hands. You also discover more about his family, his kids, and his background.

On the subject of why he reserves so little attention, he said this:

“I have fewer people interested in me compared to Hatem and Karim because they are players who have magic and are artists of the game while I’m just a worker at football.”

Say whatever you want, Jeremy, but you are no less magical. Though Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa are getting all the attention this season, Toulalan’s contribution to the team is just as huge. But he’s a defensive midfielder who doesn’t have a scoring touch (unlike his predecessor, Mahamdou Diarra), so he doesn’t get hyped by the Daily Star.

But whatever. We know he’s a beast, and the people he plays against have first hand knowledge about that.

For fun, check out this clip of a Toulalan shot. Amazing!