Everything you need to know before this Saturday evening's shock match between OGC Nice and OM

2023-10-21 08:10:00

As is often the case with the Gym, it’s when everything is going well that you have to be most wary. Second in Ligue 1, undefeated and exciting winners of Paris and Monaco, OGC Nice thought they would get through the international break in joy and good humor. It didn’t happen… And, this time, it was not the insistent look of its owner to conquer another that came to pollute the club’s environment but the scandalous and reprehensible communication from Youcef Atal.

Since this awkwardness, the Algerian international is no longer allowed to practice his job and touch a ball, which he experiences very badly, according to those close to him. By suspending Atal, who could leave the club during the next winter transfer window, six months before the end of his contract, to avoid being booed at the Allianz Riviera, where he is no longer welcome, the Gym is an arm is cut off and sportingly impoverished, but the one who can put forward what he would have done better, or not done, in the face of such a media storm is very smart.

Italy in the spotlight

Meanwhile, Jean-Clair Todibo returned to Nice without having played a single minute with the French team jersey.

He should have started against Scotland but his grin on international television, at a time when social networks are busy cutting heads, pushed Didier Deschamps to remove him from the eleven and his plans.

In less than two weeks, the Gym has had a high level of crises, paying a very nice tribute to Olympique de Marseille, its evening opponent, who was shaken by its own supporters, which caused the departure of his trainer Marcelino, who did not stay more than three months on the Canebière. To replace him, Pablo Longoria, who finally kept his position after threatening to throw in the towel, relied on Gennaro Gattuso, the former international midfielder for the immense Milan, who is active in his technical area as much as he did it on the ground.

A few meters from him, there will be his compatriot Francesco Farioli, one of the attractions of the start of the season in Ligue 1, coach undefeated for eight games, aged 34 and animated by such confidence that he cannot settle no limit. Starting from nothing, the Italian technician has the possibility of making an impression by beating OM, which is always tastier than against anyone at the Nice level. Without Thuram but with Boudaoui, the Gym has what it takes to consolidate its place on the championship podium, provided it finds the “George Weah” version of Moffi, which has rarely been the case at the Allianz Riviera since his arrival in January last.

Solid as anyone around a Bulka-Todibo-Dante-Youssouf quartet which seems to have ample shoulders to support Aubameyang’s races, Harit’s technique or even Sarr’s percussion, Nice forms a team with a lot of bottle, a a bit like that unforgettable one of Lucien Favre in 2016-2017.

“There are similarities, it’s true”smiled Dante, this week, on the set of Gym Tonic.