Axel Witsel slots into the 'Dante role' at OGC Nice

In Axel Witsel, OGC Nice have replaced the experience lost earlier in the summer when former club captain Dante hung up his boots. The Belgian is looking to have a similar impact in the twilight of his glistening career.

An ever-present at the elite

Witsel joins Nice with a similar pedigree to the man that he looks to emulate. The Belgium international (140 caps, 12 goals), has been an ever-present ever since breaking through at formative club Standard Liege back in 2006.

He has toured the elite clubs of European football. Starting at Benfica, he would then spend five years at Zenit St Petersburg before making the move to China to join TJ Quanjian. It was upon his return to Europe that he featured for the upper echelons of the European game, playing for four years at German giants Borussia Dortmund before making the move to Atletico Madrid, where he would spend a further three.

He spent last season at Girona, where he competed in the Champions League, but departed after just one year in order to join Nice on a free.

Wherever he has gone, success has, generally, followed. A German Cup and German Super Cup winner with Borussia Dortmund, he also won the Portuguese League Cup with Benfica, the Russian league with Zenit, whilst with his formative club, Standard Liege, he won the league twice and the cup once.

Axel Witsel watching his new team in the stands 🇧🇪🦅🔜 pic.twitter.com/nZRAq1pVx0
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) August 22, 2026

It is a full trophy cabinet for Witsel, who formed part of that so-called "Golden Generation" of Belgian players, who notably made it to the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Suffering from an experience deficit in light of Dante's retirement, Witsel has been identified as the man to fill the void. Like Dante, the Belgian isn't simply here to offer his advice and share his experience with what this season is a very young Nice squad; he is also still more than capable of helping on the pitch, as he showed in the UCL last season.

'Why not do a Dante!' - Witsel

"I want to finish well here," said Witsel during his unveiling as a Nice player. "That is what I had in mind."

He revealed that he spoke with Dante before joining Le Gym on a two-year deal. "I asked him a bit about how the club was, about the facilities, too. I had a really good reply and it just confirmed to me my idea about coming here," said Witsel.

He admits similarities with the former Nice captain, as well as differences, and a desire to emulate. "Like Dante, I still have that passion. I am still competitive. I like training every day. Sometimes, it is hard; you have days that are less good, but I still have that love for football, that spark," says Nice's new midfielder.

He added that, perhaps unlike Dante, he is "not the guy to shout at the young players 24/7." But he added, "Independently of my hair, why not do a Dante!"

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