Toulouse vs Monaco preview - Toulouse set for Abdennour reunion
Posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 by PA
Toulouse are concerned they have created a monster who will return to the Stade Municipal and deny his old club any points from Friday night's Ligue 1 clash.
Tunisian centre-back Aymen Abdennour blossomed as an uncompromising defender during his three years with Le Tefece and consequently earned a summer move to big-spending Monaco.
His displays for the principality club, especially in Tuesday's 3-0 home victory over Lens, have helped Monaco stabilise their season and they sit in eighth position ahead of their trip to Toulouse.
Forward Martin Braithwaite is relishing the thought of testing himself in a foot race against his former team-mate.
Speaking at Toulouse's pre-match press conference, he said: "Abdennour is very strong, especially in the tackle. He's fast, but not as fast as me. I'll leave him behind!"
Braithwaite scored the decisive goal as Le Tefece - currently 11th in the table - responded to back-to-back defeats by beating Nantes 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Reflecting on his classy volley, the Dane added: "I just made sure I put my foot through the ball. I really wanted to score because it was so important that we won the game.
"It was also important to recover (from a bad run of results). Now we have to look to the future and forget about the negatives.
"Monaco are a very good team but I believe in our chances of winning."
Boss Alain Casanova praised the 23-year-old before turning his attention to the threat posed by Abdennour.
He said: "Braithwaite is a natural striker of the ball. He showed remarkable discipline and desire to win. He was exemplary.
"Monaco have been going through a difficult period in the league but they have been remarkable in the Champions League.
"Here, Abdennour earned the status of being considered one of the best defenders in Ligue 1. The Aymen who is set to return here will be even stronger.
"Aymen is a great professional and I have great memories of what he did here, but he will go to war against us without a second thought!"
Abdennour gladly confirmed his former coach's suspicions in an interview printed in L'Equipe.
"I enjoyed some great times with TFC, but I won't be bringing any presents with me on Friday," he said.
"I'm really happy at Monaco. I get on with the management, all the staff and, of course, my team-mates.
"We have a lot of good players here and I'm sure we can go far with this team, which is a very close-knit unit.
"We're always talking and our performances have been positive."
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