This time, that’s it, the curtain has officially fallen on the 2020/2021 season of OGC Nice. A season that ended beautifully for the Eaglets thanks to an incredible victory over Olympique Lyonnais, which managed to deprive the team of the Champions League, but which was overall dull throughout.
So, in this context, what can we hope for the team for the coming year? It’s time to take stock of the subject!
New season, new start for OGC Nice! Credit: StockSnap, CC0
A Unique and Challenging Season
Reflecting the last five games of the season, which highlighted three wins and two losses, OGCN had a mixed sporting year, marked by great instability. This great instability could be felt on
the field as well as behind the scenes. Although the group managed to hold onto the top half of the table and achieve a ninth-place finish at the end of the season, nothing was guaranteed until the very last day or almost.
Undoubtedly, playing without fans this season affected the performances of all teams in all leagues, notably for the people of Nice. But that can’t explain everything. If the Eaglets started the championship well, with several consecutive victories, they eventually lost their footing a few weeks later, stringing together disappointing performances and having a chaotic run in the Europa League. The only consolation could possibly be found in their French Cup run, eventually halted by Monaco last March, during the round of 16. In short, not much to remember from this season for the people of Nice, it clearly won’t go down in the club’s history as a beautiful year!
Fortunately, we can hope for better in the coming months since, for sure, next season won’t resemble this one for several reasons.
Changes Ahead on the Bench
After the dismissal of Patrick Vieira last December, Adrian Ursea took the reins of the team. The least we can say is that he fulfilled his mission well until the end of the season, generally raising the team. But, it had been expected for weeks and is now official, the coach is on his way out. It is therefore certain: there will be novelty on the Nice bench next season. Now remains to be seen who will take over from the Swiss-Romanian coach.
One of the candidates in the running could well be Christophe Galtier, who has just won the French championship title with Losc and is therefore logically very sought after. For the moment, there is nothing concrete to announce since the acclaimed coach is the focus of everyone’s attention and is notably in the crosshairs of Olympique Lyonnais.
But, evidently, OGCN is in pole position. And, for sure, such an arrival in Nice would be enough to fuel all hopes for a great season! After all, if he managed to win a title in Ligue 1 with Lille, we can hope for another on the Côte d’Azur, right?
Looking forward to next season! Photo by SeppH, CC0
Changes in the Team as Well
On the players’ side, we eagerly wait to see which new recruits will bring fresh blood to the team during the transfer window. It is especially known that the club is actively searching for a right-back who could compete with Youssef Atal. Last month, Aurélio Buta’s name was mentioned, but nothing has been signed yet.
Moreover, no recruit has officially joined the Azurean club yet, so patience is required. And it’s the same concerning departures. Those of Amine Gouiri and Flavius Daniliuc seem to be materializing slowly but surely, but here too, everything remains to be done!
Everything now largely depends on the arrival of the new team coach, who will be able to directly decide which elements he deems indispensable in his squad and which players he prefers to do without, on the contrary. In short, we know there will be changes, but we still need to know in what form and to what extent. Answers will come in the weeks and months to come! In any case, if Christophe Galtier’s arrival is confirmed, here’s to the next season, which promises to be exciting…
