Certainly, the match against the Italians from Udinese was only a friendly match, but nonetheless, these same Italians managed to make Bordeaux (1-2) and Marseille (1-3) bite the dust in the previous two friendly matches. Of course, everything is far from perfect, but the determination of a transformed Digard as captain courage and the stubbornness of Hellebuyck, seemingly back to his best, hint at a potentially less complicated season for Eric Roy’s men. Will the 2011/2012 season be the year of takeoff for the Nice Eaglets?
This Saturday marks the kickoff of the 2011-2012 season on eight of the 10 Ligue 1 pitches, with Dijon-Rennes and Bordeaux-Saint-Etienne taking place on Sunday, and it’s against a major competitor in the championship that Nice will start, with Olympique Lyonnais who won’t be coming to the Côte d’Azur just as tourists. If the last result of the Gones brightened up Lyon supporters a bit (victory against FC Porto 1-2), previous friendly matches had raised fears with defeats against Salzburg (1-0) and Genk (3-1) and draws against Hanover (0-0) and Donetsk (1-1). However, it is known that the results of friendly matches are only indicative, and the Eaglets will need courage and determination to overcome the Lyonnais well decided to immediately cling to the top of the standings.
On Eric Roy’s side, even though the victory was appreciated at its true value, the Nice coach quickly learned to keep his cool: “It’s satisfying because, overall, we showed some interesting things. A week before the championship resumes, it’s not a guarantee. But it’s always better to win.” Prudence is therefore advised before hosting a Lyon ogre that ultimately impresses the little Nice David very little. And if last year, the Azurites snatched a draw in stoppage time, this year the protégés of Eric Roy intend to make the difference in regular time.
Rémi Garde and Eric Roy therefore have one week left to shape the starting eleven that will kick off next Saturday evening when Nice supporters hope the fever will be red and black and that their team will be able to carve a piece of… Lyon!
