The Gym is preparing to host, in a packed and sold-out Ray, the PSG of Carlo Ancelotti and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The last of the last of a stylish duel within the mythical stadium of the Aiglons.
For the last time in its 85-year history, the stadium of Ray hosts Paris Saint-Germain. The mythical venue should undoubtedly be sold out for the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and company.
A first since a certain Coupe de France semi-final lost against Lille (0-2) on April 19, 2011. However, despite the even higher status of the capital’s club, the Nice supporters did not wait for the arrival of the Qatari investors to make this match a mythical game with a special flavor.
Nice-PSG games have always been loaded with history… even if Saturday’s game will be the first sell-out, the previous record attendance for this duel was a certain victory of the Aiglons on October 3, 1975 (2-1 on the 9th day) in front of more than 18,700 spectators and a title offered to Nice before the “drama” of St-Etienne-Monsieur Wurtz*…
Nice-PSG games at Ray, even though the first one dates back only to 1972 (1-1), have each year enriched the Gym’s history up to today. Everyone remembers the 1-0 victory (L. Rémy) behind closed doors in 2010, the five consecutive victories of Nice between 2006 and 2010, the 4-2 victory in 1974 with players like Baratelli, Molitor, Adams, Huck, Jouve, Grava, or the spectacular 3-3 one night in 1989 with warriors like Djelmas, Bocandé, Kurbos, Elsner, Guérit…
The Nice-Paris axis is finally about the almost always filled stands of Ray, the supporters’ chants resonating all the way to the Port, the always inspired tifos, and above all, a palpable tension in the city worthy of the greatest matches. That’s what football exists for.
Olivier Fazio
- On March 11, 1976, Nice and Saint-Étienne met at the end of the 26th day of the French 1st division championship. The Gym and its star team dominated for more than half the season with a promised title at the end… until that famous match. While the score was 1-1 (goal by Toko for Nice in the 62nd minute), in the 88th minute, the defender from Saint-Étienne, Christian Lopez, deflected a Nice shot on the line with his hand. The referee of the match, Monsieur Wurtz, was “the only one not to have seen it,” as all the media of the time could headline. Nice lost the title, and the end of the glory years began….
