PORTRAIT. TFC: Gabriel Suazo, the caviar left! Or how the South American winger was able to bounce back following a drop in performance… Two famous former Toulouse players testify

Reims for Aboukhlal, Auxerre on a plateau at King, Saint-Étienne bound for Babicka. Over the last three home matches, Gabriel Suazo will have provided as many assists – three successes! The stat did not… go unnoticed, Suazo came back into full light after a lackluster start to the fall, like the team. To the point of having remained on the bench, the Kamanzi/Dönnum duo having been preferred, during the “redemption victory” of Tef in Hérault (3-0 in Montpellier, 9^eJ; October 27).

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No wonder: since then, the Violets have been walking on water and were received 6/8. In other words, the Chilean’s partners have won everything, apart from their trips to the Parc (3-0) and to Louis-II (2 -0). By the way, the TFC ranks 2^e behind PSG over this period; and, this is not a detail, “Gabi” as he is nicknamed, the best passer in his training. “With his quality of foot, opines chef Philippe Montanier, he has this art of delivering caviars for his attackers; his curl can wreak havoc behind the defenses which evolve high block. Remember his marvel of opening for the first goal of Thijs (Dallinga) in the Cup final…”

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Three months earlier, the former coach of Toulouse FC, winner of the Coupe de France and, the season before, champion of L2, had welcomed the South American in the 2022-23 winter transfer window (he signed until 2026 ). “We were looking for a left back to compensate for the departure of Sylla. I watched the videos, I validated his profile straight away: his potential to fit into our style of play was obvious. He also benefited from good track record, particularly as an international for La Roja, which is a reference in itself.”

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“In Libertadores against River, he was huge”

To see it in action is to adopt it in short. Recruiter for Lille throughout South America since January 2023 – he lives in Santiago with his Chilean wife Maria Paz and their three daughters, the former Téfécé midfielder (2008-2016), Étienne Didot, ne don’t say anything else. “The first time I supervised him, it was in the Copa Libertadores for a Colo-Colo – River Plate. He was quite huge. It’s a treat for the spectators and for his teammates: left leg with the outsiders , technical accuracy, vision and appetite for combined play like a midfielder. He smells like football, after this poster (04/28/2022; 1-2), I always had my eye on the player and. I checked him a handful of times Besides, before he came to the banks of the Garonne, I mentioned his name to two or three French sports directors… I then met him in Rennes last season. and at the beginning of October at Losc, precisely during a vacation in the Pink City too, during the off-season two years ago, where he expressed to me his pride in being vice-captain.

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Now the human side. “I saw his speech in the locker room this weekend,” continues the exiled Breton, “before the match in Lens: there is nothing more motivating.” “Gabi has a unifying soul,” adds Montanier, “he exudes something both on and off the field. His personality is eminently endearing. It’s well-known: South Americans are smiling, very outgoing, oh so sociable. proof, I had during my two years at Real Sociedad (2011-2013) the goalkeeper of Chile Claudio Bravo, a monument to the country, before he plays at Barça then at City They are appreciated players and men we appreciate. [lequel a conseillé Suazo de s’engager à Toulouse, ndlr] assured me that my management would suit Gabriel.” The Norman technician was not disappointed.

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“His taste for duels”

“Express adaptation, confirms Didot. He was not afraid to cross the Rubicon by arriving with us because Gabi had already experienced delicate moments in the club. He was criticized at one time but managed to reverse the trend by leaving Colo-Colo with the armband While, generally, South Americans set off to discover Europe when they are burning and, thus, the harsher reality can turn out to be. “The doubts, assures the TFC goalkeeper (1994-1997) who completed his playing career at Saint-Étienne, he chases them away because he is not the type of the house to give up. He is always at bottom.”

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Hence its outstretched wings. “The piston position actually allows him to give free rein to his offensive drive, admits Philippe Montanier, especially since he finds himself covered. But he also had good side matches, with his typical aggressiveness, his taste for duels which reminds me of his counterpart on the right: Mikkel Desler.”

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“The walk above,” continues Étienne Didot, “is surely akin to a greater physical impact against strong attackers. So, Gabi would be close to the top level.” In the meantime, it’s Petit-Wembley which is enjoying it and enjoying it…