Toulouse, the advantage of experience
Toulouse, 3rd in Ligue 2 and winner of Grenoble in the play-off, faces Nantes, 18th in Ligue 1, in round-trip play-offs Thursday at the Stadium and Sunday at La Beaujoire, to try to find the elite, one year after the to have left.
Unlike the Canaries, perfect novices in the event, the Violets are at the third dams in their history.
In 2018, Téf, 18th in L1, had saved his skin without problem against Ajaccio (3-0, 1-0).
Much older, in 1981, the club had failed to climb for the first time in Division 1, stumbling against Tours (1-0, 2-2).
Advantage D2, but ...
Restored for the 2016/17 season, the eliminatory matches between clubs of the first and second divisions were previously in force from 1952 to 1957, in 1969 and from 1979 to 1993. With a clear advantage for the clubs of D2: out of 24 direct confrontations , 16 resulted in the promotion of the challenger, or exactly two out of three. Among them, the stifling victory of Lens on penalties in 1979 against Paris FC (0-0, 0-0, 3-0 tab). Or the promotion of AS Cannes in 1993, for the last dam of the century, against Valenciennes (2-0, 1-1) victim of the VA-OM affair. But in the 21st century, the trend seems to have reversed, with two play-offs won by the L1 team for only one where the L2 team have prevailed. In addition to Toulouse in 2018, Dijon fled in 2019 against Lens (1-1, 3-1). Conversely, in 2017,Troyes won his ticket to the elite by condemning Lorient (2-1, 0-0).
When the grown-ups tremble
The dams have not spared the historic clubs of the French Championship.
It was even OM who inaugurated them in 1952 against Valenciennes.
The Marseillais had fled by winning 4-0 after a 3-1 defeat in the first leg.
In 1969, AS Monaco fell against little Angoulême.
Victorious 2-1 in Charente, the Rocher club lost 1-0 to Louis-II then lost in the support match on neutral ground, at the Parc des Princes, 2-0.
In 1984, it was in dams that the great era of AS Saint-Etienne finally ended.
At home in Geoffroy-Guichard, the ten times French champion club was ejected from D1 by Racing Paris, winner 2-0 after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
Proof that the ax does not spare historic clubs.
FC Nantes is warned.
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