Football: Olivier Pantaloni is the new coach of OGC Nice

OGC Nice finally has its new coach for the 2026/27 season: Olivier Pantaloni. Free since the end of his contract at Lorient, the Corsican is coming off a very good personal year with the Merlus. Called in to act as firefighter in January, Claude Puel is ultimately not being kept by the Eagles.

OGC Nice is finally launching the major project of its summer transfer market! With a first important priority: the appointment of Olivier Pantaloni at the head of the Eagles. The leads were accumulating and leading nowhere in recent weeks on the Côte d’Azur. It was ultimately the profile of the Corsican tactician that was chosen by the red and black management. He comes out of a promising season with FC Lorient, with whom he finished in the top half of the table (10th), a sporting performance praised while the Merlus were making their return to the elite this season. Out of contract in Brittany, the former Ajaccio coach cost the Nice board no compensation whatsoever. The Nice club’s transfer budget is likely to remain tight this summer, and this operation looks almost like a perfect opportunity for the Gym.

A solid CV in Ligue 1

Olivier Pantaloni is not unknown to fans of our championship. The 59-year-old coach will experience his 3rd stint on the bench of a Ligue 1 team, after Ajaccio and FC Lorient. Under his direction, the Merlus even won the Ligue 2 championship title, before the Breton team’s solid return to the top division. He will arrive on the Côte d’Azur with an assistant, whose identity remains to be determined. Another amusing anecdote about him: Pantaloni had passed through Nice during his playing career. Arriving at the Azurean club in 1985, Pantaloni spent three seasons with the red and black reserve team. The former striker had never played with the pros during this period.

OGC Nice also chose not to retain Claude Puel in his position. The former OL man is leaving his post six months after his return to the club, having fulfilled the mission for which the Gym had brought him out of retirement: keeping the Eagles in Ligue 1. The journey may have been laborious – with a difficult passage through the playoffs against ASSE – but the outcome remains the same. The Nice side will compete in the top division next season, and this is also due to coach Puel’s choices. He had long been cited as the favorite for his own succession, but the Nice board opted for another choice.