The director of football at OGC Nice spoke with “L’Équipe” and spoke candidly.
Having had a very good season, ranking 3rd after 13 matches, OGC is shining in these early stages of the 2021-2022 season. The director of football, Julien Fournier, who has been with the club for over 10 years, expressed his thoughts in the columns of L’Équipe about this successful start and the reasons behind it. But it’s not all rosy; the former president of Strasbourg also openly discussed the dark spots that need to be fixed or forgotten.
When discussing this successful start to the season, the arrival of Christophe Galtier at Les Aiglons is brought up. Julien Fournier reflected on the introduction of the reigning champion to his methods:
“There are aspects that surprise me (about Christophe Galtier), in a positive way. In his strong work ethic, he reminds me of (Eric) Gerets, whom I knew at OM. He is somewhat the same type of character, similar management style, very close to his players, and can be tough with them but always strives to be fair. He is a hard worker. When I see his attention to detail on a daily basis, I think he discovered the demands of the very high level not so long ago. Having worked with foreign assistants at Lille probably opened his eyes to another way of working,” he stated before continuing, “What I like is the preparation for the weekend match: in the observation of the opponent, the video preparation, and the preparation of his talk. His match preparation lasts all week. Nothing is left to chance. The team’s work will be oriented in relation to the opponent, and there is a huge amount of work done on that. Without naming names, this has not always been the case with the coaches I have worked with.”
Julien Fournier then went back over the August incidents against Olympique de Marseille; the sporting director of the Azureans hasn’t digested the overflow that cost the Aiglons three points.
“My response is going to be very personal. It does not engage the club, the staff, or the team, but for me, it is not behind us. I still have it here (he shows his throat)… It will go away at the end of the season if we don’t have regrets. What I mean is, between the reality of what happened (the match was stopped in the 75th minute, at 1-0 for Nice) and what it is today (the replayed match ended with a 1-1 score and Nice lost a point), there is a big gap, of three points. In accounting terms, it’s in the past. But I have not digested it.”
He also spoke about the poor form of several Azurean players.
“I expect more from them. Even though injuries are part of a high-level athlete’s life, it’s evident that I expect more from Justin (Kluivert), that I expect more from Calvin (Stengs), that I expect more from Kasper (Dolberg), that I expect more from Alexis (Claude-Maurice). They need to give more to the club. They know it. They are fantastic in their investment and mentality. But the reality is the field: we have almost played thirteen matches without them. At some point, they need to join us. The team is performing, there’s a good coach, a model of play, they were chosen, we invested money in them, we’ve put them in a comfortable position, now they need to deliver. We need them. They are not insignificant players,” he declared.
