The people of Nice scrounged up a few extra days of vacation following negotiations masterfully carried out by Captain Dante. The Brazilian defender took care of everything, but in truth, Francesco Farioli was not very difficult to convince.
By beating Lens 2-0 on Wednesday, his boys offered themselves a 10th victory in 17 games and the right to start the return phase as second in L1, five points behind PSG and two ahead of Monaco. The summer hit made it through the fall, no offense to those who were only waiting for one thing: for the record to jam.
Less money, more ideas
Let it be said, no one imagined a few months ago that the Gym would sail so high after a summer which marked a real shift in the club’s project.
With fewer resources allocated by shareholder INEOS, and therefore little latitude on the transfer market, sports director Florent Ghisolfi may have felt betrayed at times.
However, he has not left the ship and, like CEO Fabrice Bocquet, has put his rich ideas at the service of an organization which has refocused around a clear direction and a strong identity.
The first success of the Nice staff was to retain its two best players from last season Jean-Clair Todibo and Khéphren Thuram. The second, to have given a chance to Francesco Farioli, a 34-year-old coach unknown to the General public.
If OGC Nice had to wait until the fourth day to obtain its first victory, its season really changed in mid-September with two successes in quick succession in Paris (2-3) then in Monaco (0-1).
The locker room held up
“While being humble, we quickly felt that there was something happening within the staff and between us players. It took off right away,” enlightens Morgan Sanson, a recruit who very quickly integrated into the “from a group of great guys”.
Touched by the suicide attempt of Alexis Beka Beka, shaken by the Galtier and Atal affairs, the locker room did not flinch in the face of extra-sporting difficulties. And always kept solidarity as a driving force, even after the end of his series of invincibility in Nantes or the rout in Le Havre.
From this first part of the season, we will obviously remember this iron defense, the best in L1, which under the leadership of the Dante-Todibo duo only conceded 9 small goals, obtained 11 clean sheets and played 13 games sharpened without having been carried out.
Less the flamboyance of his game or the effectiveness of his attack, even if the record of his leader Terem Moffi (6 goals) was defended by Florent Ghisolfi. “For a team which scored 19 goals, that represents a third, it’s more than correct. When we look at the ranking of scorers, apart from Mbappé (18 buts), very few scored more (Ben Yedder 8 goals, Adams and Lacazette 7). I also think that like Boga, there is more than what meets the eye. It is really important in its space and speed, it allows you to widen the spacings to be able to play. I am more than satisfied with his season”points out the sports director, who called on his group to “be planes in the remaining 17 matches”.
With at least the departures of three starters Boga, Moffi and Boudaoui, the CAN (from mid-January to mid-February) will be a challenge, even if two recruits, an offensive player and another defensive player, versatile if possible, could come swell the ranks of Nice this winter. The hardest part certainly begins for the Gym which will have to go the distance against Monaco, Marseille, Lille, or Lens.
Its initial objective has not changed: to finish in the top 6. Which should not prevent the Aiglons from dreaming bigger and why not from direct qualification for the Champions League. With its remarkable first part of the season, Nice opened up the field to all possibilities.