It is true that the season could have caused some concerns from both the stands and the specialized press. The best players had left the Côte d’Azur for destinations they deemed more prestigious (Lloris, Ederson, Koné, Balmont…) and the squad wasn’t complete, due to the Olympics and injuries. The defeat, albeit narrow, at Le Havre might have confirmed the fears if Nancy and Auxerre hadn’t fallen to a solid Nice team that managed to set up their game and, crucially, maintain it until the last minute. The grumblers will say it was only Nancy and Auxerre and the hardest is yet to come, but the realists, without being overly optimistic, are already dreaming of success on Saturday against Valenciennes who have been defeated on their last two visits to the Ray (1-0 in 2007/08, 2-0 in 2006/07) and why not an exploit next Saturday, September 13th, in Lyon where the eaglets have had two promising draws (0-0 in 2007/08, 1-1 in 2006/07).
The start of the season is therefore more than positive for the protégés of a delighted Maurice Cohen who couldn’t have dreamed of a better start, having already received, in the pre-season, the pleasant and long-awaited news of the imminent arrival of a great stadium for his club. “A real delight”, “A team that’s a pleasure to watch”, “This victory bodes well”… the reactions on the OGC Nice forum are unanimously positive and the victory against Auxerre has lifted the spirits of the virtual supporters who will transition from the web to the stadium next Saturday to cheer on their favorites. They will thus need to confirm against an opponent who holds the same points in the standings with a victory in the first match against Saint Etienne (1-0), a defeat at Caen (3-1) in the second match, and a new victory last Saturday at home against Lorient (3-1). Looking at these results, one might think that the northerners travel less effectively than they play at home, but the recent victory against Lorient has restored confidence to Antoine Kombouaré’s men who will come to Nice with the firm intention of avenging the Caen defeat. Jonathan Lacourt and Djamel Beldami will not make the trip due to injuries, and David Sommeil is slowly recovering from his recent heart incident.
A match that will be worth its weight in points and, this year, to stay close to the top of the table and in case of victory, if Sochaux pulls off an upset in Marseille and the Greens win the derby against their Lyon neighbors… It feels so good to dream of a leader in red and black!
