Season Preview #12: OGC Nice
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With the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season fast-approaching, we’re running through every team in the league, giving you all you need to become a Ligue 1 expert. Every day from now until the season kicks off on August 16, we’ll preview two clubs every day, breaking down their key moves and how the season is likely to unfold for them.
OGC Nice
Founded: 1904
Stadium: Allianz Riviera
Nickname(s): Les Aiglons, Le Gym
Manager: Franck Haise (first season)
When Franck Haise was installed in charge of Lens four years ago and ended up earning the club promotion in the COVID-curtailed 2019/20 season, it was season as a fluke, and that relegation would be a certainty. After helping Le Sang et Or not only stay in the top flight but return to the Champions League, he has upped sticks for the French Riviera to take charge of a Nice side that many feel has underperformed relative to the level of investment in it over recent seasons. He may struggle to improve on the defensive solidity that underpinned Francesco Farioli's spell in charge, but should make Les Aiglons a far more attractive proposal going forward.
Last season: 5th, Ligue 1
Cult hero: Dante
The oldest outfield player in Ligue 1 by some measure last season, the veteran Brazilian has returned for another season, one that will see him playing past his 41st birthday. Given that he'll have to countenance a new defensive partner after several excellent seasons alongside Jean-Clair Todibo, this, his ninth campaign in France, could prove his most testing yet.
Key arrivals:
Unlike last summer, when the team spent heavily on the likes of Jérémie Boga and Terem Moffi, this summer has seen the club be rather more circumspect. Tanguy Ndombélé is still only 27 and looks a canny acquisition on a free transfer and an ideal replacement for Khéphren Thuram, while Jonathan Clauss -- a hit under Haise at Lens -- will add plenty of attacking thrust on the right. Add in the permanent arrival of Morgan Sanson, impressive on loan last season, and Nice have spent well, but questions remain over whether it will be enough.
Key departures:
Todibo's departure to West Ham will leave a massive void in defence. Having gone from a rough-around-the-edges prospect to arguably the league's best defender, he will take some replacing, and likewise Thuram in midfield, even if the arrival of Ndombélé looks a smart move. The real elephant in the room, though, is the absence of Moffi who is set to miss most, if not all of the season, having sustained a cruciate injury.
Season Outlook:
Much will depend on how well the team's cadre of defenders can adapt to Haise's aggressive 3-4-3. Dante has played in that system often in his career, but the team's other options there -- Antoine Mendy and converted midfielders Pablo Rosario and Youssouf Ndayishimiye are rather more callow. With Moffi's injury, plenty of pressure will be on Evann Guessand to make good on his promise as a striker, while Gaëtan Laborde and Sofiane Diop could yet figure as well, once the latter returns from injury. With the Europa League a concern after the break, this team could struggle to come fifth again, but should be able to stay in at least mid-table.
Likely XI (3-4-3): Bulka; Mendy, Rosario, Dante; Clauss, Sanson, Ndombélé, Bard; Cho, Guessand, Boga
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