Finishing 9th in the league last season was certainly not part of the plan for OGC Nice’s board. Since the takeover of INEOS in 2019, the plan had been to reach the heights of Marseille, Rennes and to a certain extent, Paris Saint-Germain, while playing regularly in Europe. However, while they were involved in the Europa Conference League last season, crashing out against FC Basel, it seems the board are rethinking the project this summer.
In an article published by L’Équipe today, numerous big figures at the club have expressed their thoughts, detailing the new expectations for the project. Sporting Director Florent Ghisolfi say: “we need to lower our expectations around the club. There has been a lot of pressure on the club since the arrival of INEOS (in 2019). When you talk with supporters, they do not care about PSG: they want a coherent project, people that work hard, players who respect the club and who play together.”
Club captain, Dante, adds that “either you win, or you learn, and I think at the club we are learning. In all the seasons I have been at the club, the one where we got the best results is the one when we spent the least (2016-17). With less investment, maybe everyone can hang on tight as a unified team, which is smarter, and with a clear idea of the game plan with a young coach.”
In that sense, Ghisolfi adds that “resources need to be spent intelligently between the structures and the sporting side. In order to create conditions for success in the long term.” This would enable the club to find a greater financial balance after a lot of investment in recent seasons, a level of investment which has rarely led to success on the pitch.
This summer, after the promising start by Didier Digard on the bench as coach, Les Aiglons will be managed by a young Italian coach in the shape of Francesco Farioli. The former coach of Turkish side Alanyaspor also managed at the Aspire Academy in Qatar, as well as coaching in all divisions of Italian football, notably as an assistant under Roberto De Zerbi at Sassuolo.
The Brighton coach has been a great influence on the attacking playing style that the Italian wants to set up with Nice. To achieve that playing style, Farioli says that he has been using metaphors: “The team’s preparation and a hike in the mountains. We never know how long it will take to get to the top and to see the other side. We are in a phase. There is still a long way to go. It demands efforts. But it is worth it.”
Ultimately, Ghisolfi states that the club needs to “work well and create a coherent project.” With Calvin Stengs, Aaron Ramsey and other recent recruits gone, the Nice project can start somewhat afresh. They have welcomed Morgan Sanson on loan from Strasbourg, as well as former Atalanta winger, Jérémie Boga, who was at Sassuolo when Farioli was on the coaching staff.
No doubt that the many stories surrounding INEOS trying to take over Manchester United have destabilised the Nice project, but the board is committed to bring back stability in the months to come.
