Le Sommer, Henry and Robert thriving with Toluca in Mexico | OneFootball

Eugénie Le Sommer, Amandine Henry and Faustine Robert have embraced life at Diablas Rojas de Toluca under compatriot Patrice Lair, and have no regrets after crossing the Atlantic. Together they have helped the club reach the league semi-finals for the first time.

According to L'Équipe, Henry, 36, with 109 France caps and 14 goals, joined in summer 2024 after an offer arrived while she was at Utah Royals. The move followed France’s 1-0 Olympic quarter-final defeat to Brazil in Nantes, and she accepted within five days.

The former Lyon midfielder swapped home, 9,500 kilometres away, for a city of 819,000 at 2,660 metres below the Nevado de Toluca volcano. Early on she felt the altitude, and experienced the area’s torrential rain and frequent earthquakes.

Basic Spanish and her quality eased her integration alongside promising Célia Bensalem, an OL product now at Strasbourg. Toluca’s women were still being built and short on depth. The men’s side boast 12 Liga MX titles since 1917, four fewer than Club América, but the women are yet to win the league.

Expectation grew and standards rose with Henry’s influence, yet powerhouses América, Tigres, Rayadas, Chivas and Pachuca remained out of reach. Toluca went out in the Championship quarter-finals, then finished 11th in the next regular season and missed the Liguilla.

With Le Sommer and Robert now alongside Henry, Toluca have pushed on under Lair. Le Sommer ended the Clausura 2026 regular season as joint top scorer with 18 goals in 16 matches.

Source: L'Équipe