In an interview with L’Équipe, the president of the Gym reflected on the complicated end of the season, explained the new organizational structure of OGC Nice, and the new role of INEOS at the club.
After a very turbulent end of the season, the strongman of OGC Nice, Jean-Pierre Rivère, who has been with the club for over 11 years, spoke candidly to shed light on what happened and what will happen behind the scenes at the Gym.
First, the President was questioned about the new organizational structure of the club from the Côte d’Azur. He first discussed the departure of Christophe Galtier, partly related to the poor performance of the team from the Côte d’Azur in the final:
“We fell short. I regret that we felt as though we didn’t play it, and that caused general frustration, from the shareholders to the supporters… I’m not questioning the coach’s approach, he prepared the final very well, but this non-performance left a bitter taste for the owner. It was a wake-up call.”
Nonetheless, JPR expressed joy over Galtier’s move to PSG and wished him good luck in this new adventure: “I am very happy that Christophe has the opportunity to coach PSG, and I will always watch him with kind regard.”
Jean-Pierre Rivère then discussed the future of Julien Fournier, his relationship with the club’s director of football, and the role he plays during this transfer window. As he previously announced during Lucien Favre’s presentation, he will leave the club in a few months: “I have been working with Julien for 11 years, it’s a deep friendship that doesn’t prevent strategic differences… Julien will work without reservation, and there’s nothing shocking about having a mission until September when he has the skills and perfect knowledge of the club.”
He will thus handle the transfer window alongside INEOS’s sports director Dave Bramford: “For the transfer window, there’s Dave, Julien, me, a recruitment cell. Dave will spend less time on the Tour de France, as he still manages the club. Our operation will be expanded.”
In this interview with our colleagues from L’Équipe, he also confirmed the new structure of the club. JPR resumes the number 1 spot from Fournier, who had been running the club daily since 2019: “Circumstances led me to explain my strategy to the shareholders, remarkable people who listened to it to take a different direction from the past three years.”
Within this new strategy initiated by Rivère, Lucien Favre presented all the sought-after attributes: competence, knowledge of the club, good relations with management, and a desire to implement beautiful gameplay: “I’ve always enjoyed watching our team play under Lucien’s direction, and we’ve always kept in touch. On both a human and gameplay level, he ticks all the boxes. I have no doubt.”
The Swiss coach experienced a more challenging second season with the departure of many key players (Séri, Balotelli, Souquet, Le Marchand, Pléa…). For this 2022-23 season, Favre has been guaranteed that no major player (Thuram, Gouiri, Todibo) would leave the club and that quality recruits would arrive: “The first year was exceptional, and we weakened the team afterward, whereas a coach should be given the means to progress. Today’s focus is not on selling our best players, but on strengthening with 3-4 recruits.”
INEOS appears to have crossed the long-awaited threshold by eager supporters. The goal assumed by Favre and Rivère is to “finish on the podium within two years” and “play in the European cup every year.”
To summarize:
The defeat in the Coupe de France final after a “non-match” and the poor Galtier-Fournier relationship triggered a “wake-up call” at the club. Rivere reinstates himself as the number 1 with a strategy approved by INEOS: the atmosphere must be perfect for the club and team to function, and the Gym must return to the beautiful game “lost over the last 3 years.” Lucien Favre’s arrival is linked to this desire, as he showed one of the best sides of the club in the 21st century and maintains excellent relations with the Nice president (even since his departure in 2018). This marks a new beginning for OGC Nice and its owner INEOS, who will invest to make the displayed ambitions a reality.
