It was in a relaxed atmosphere that Jean-Pierre Rivière and Claude Puel, the two “bosses” of the Gym, presented to the press and exchanged well wishes for a 2013 that everyone hopes will be as good as the previous year.
The reasons for this shared satisfaction are easy to find.
For the Nice president, it is the first season of truly personal management, the choice of a sports manager of his liking with whom he forms a very close duo, a more than satisfactory ranking at the break with the goal of at least maintaining practically secured, the prospect of a significantly better end of the season compared to past seasons (often ended with heart palpitations) and the unhidden hope of a possible European qualification.
Moreover, finances are healthy thanks to attentive management and a wise and successful recruitment, the new stadium from the new season will be the tool that will allow a leap forward in building a solid and attractive club if new investors were to come forward… and, as icing on the already pretty cake, the new training center will also be operational in 2014.
The skipper in charge of sports has every reason to be smiling beyond his sober and not very talkative style.
After the setbacks in Lyon, the Nice project was a chosen challenge for the Côte d’Azur coach with conviction and with the perspective of a long-term plan. The construction of a team that he deeply connects with, with young and not-so-young, serious and diligent players, the ability to create an active link with the training center and promote its best elements, the arrival of an unexpected gem like Dario Cvitanich…, the immediate connection with the Nice public, the good understanding with a president who does not want to “compose the team”, the good sports results that fuel the engine and provide additional ambition and a bit of luck that never hurts…
And for the future? What if we looked towards Europe now that we no longer have to look at the red zone a bit lower down?
