And it’s with a smiling Loïc Rémy that Didier Olle-Nicolle’s men were waiting for their guests in the oval usually used as a warming-up track for equine sprinters. Nice players, all dressed in black, were ready to engage in a new war consisting of 38 battles, aiming to surpass the 50 points they achieved last season and secure a ninth place in the standings. They will do so with a new coach, Didier Olle-Nicolle himself. Coming from Clermont Foot with whom he won the France National Championship in 2007, he seems to have integrated perfectly into the Nice team, judging by the ease with which he manages his troops. However, this is not the only achievement of the new Nice coach, who also took the Raon club from the Promotion d’Honneur to the National from 1991 to 2000, and led Nîmes Olympique, then in the National league, to the doors of the French Cup final in 2005 after eliminating no less than four Ligue 1 teams. A high-flying career that everyone hopes to see expand within the ranks of the Nice club.
Regarding players, due to budget constraints, there are no big names, but serious competitors with the return of Mamadou Bagayoko after two seasons in Nantes and the arrivals of Alain Cantareil from Ajaccio, Mickaël Pote from Clermont, Grégory Paisley from Strasbourg, Jonathan Quartey from the Kaisers Chiefs of South Africa, and Larrys Mabiala from PSG. These six newcomers thus reinforce a strong group that has managed to keep its best elements such as Rémy and Apam.
The last victory against the Genoa team (0-3), who were fifth in the last edition of Italy’s Serie A, bodes well for a calm start to the season even if Didier Olle-Nicolle reminds everyone that it’s important to “keep things in perspective” and “not get ahead of ourselves.” The message is clear and the Eagles will need to implement it from next Saturday with a very challenging trip to Saint-Étienne to face Alain Perrin’s team before returning to the Ray Stadium and meeting up with the Nice fans on Sunday, August 16, against Rennes and their coach Frédéric Antonetti.
