It was a historic night at the Allianz Riviera, as was expected. OGC Nice were celebrating their 120th anniversary as they welcomed AS Saint-Étienne. What wasn’t expected was that more history would be made; from ASSE’s point of view, it was not history that they wanted to write.
Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men conceded six goals in the first half against Le Gym, becoming the first team to do so in a Ligue 1 match in the 21st century. By the time the whilst blew for half-time, the Saint-Étienne fans who had made the trip down to the Côte d’Azur were nowhere to be seen; they had already left the Allianz Riviera.
With the result sealed, Nice took their foot off the pedal in the second half, scoring two more, and registering an emphatic 8-0 win; quite the way to celebrate what was already a historic night. “This 120-year anniversary will be engraved in the club’s memory, and in my memory too. That score, you almost never see that,” reacted Les Aiglons’ manager Franck Haise post-match.
Saint-Étiennes’s Kilmer Sports Ventures owners address the dressing room
The former RC Lens manager emerged for his post-match media duties before his counterpart Dall’Oglio, against procedure in France, where the away manager always presents himself first. Get French Football News understands that there were very frank conversations in the dressing room post-match, with the manager, Huss Fahmy, the Executive Vice President of Kilmer Sports Ventures, ASSE’s new owners, and Loïc Perrin, the sports co-ordinator all addressing the squad.
With the ownership present for the occasion, the message was clear – it was one of shame. Get French Football News understands that there was an emphasis on making sure that the feeling of shame was deeply felt in order to avoid a reoccurrence in the future.
In defence of the under-fire manager, Perrin told the dressing room that they were lucky to have a coach like Dall’Oglio, who measured his words in the post-match debrief, as he did when he did eventually carry out his post-match duties. “The feeling is one of shame. We are not proud at all in terms of what we produced. When you forget the basics against a good team, you’re punished,” began Dall’Oglio.
Straight back to work for ASSE
Dall’Oglio said he “understood” the fans’ reaction and apologised before continuing. “I can’t explain [the performance]. They (the players) can’t either. We knew our season would be difficult. We said it from the start but we are capable of showing what we showed last week (when ASSE beat Lille OSC 1-0). I am angry, although I won’t show it today. I will first seek explanations.”
The inquest, which began immediately after the final whistle, among the hierarchy in the dressing room, is likely to be ongoing throughout the week. A training session was already scheduled to take place on Saturday, but Get French Football News understands that it will now be more intense than originally planned. The inquest will have to bring results if Saint-Étienne have hopes of turning around their fortunes and ensuring their safety in Ligue 1, as is their objective.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice
