Christophe Galtier left OGC Nice at the start of the summer without saying goodbye to his players. Three months later, the new Paris-Saint-Germain coach will return to his former club. Before challenging PSG, leader of the French championship, Saturday 1er October, at the Parc des Princes, the Riviera club has only eight points in as many days. A disappointing first assessment for Les Aiglons who aspire to settle permanently on the podium of League 1.
In 2019, OGC Nice was bought by Briton Jim Ratcliffe, head of Ineos, a British group specializing in chemicals, established at the highest level in sport (cycling, Formula 1, sailing, etc.) . Two years later, the billionaire’s project was gaining momentum on the Côte d’Azur: in the wake of an L1 championship title won with Lille, which had raised him to the rank of the most courted French coach. , Christophe Galtier refused the advances of Olympique Lyonnais to join the Nice club.
The season that followed started well, but ended badly (fifth place in the standings while the club was on the podium halfway through, not to mention a defeat in the final of the Coupe de France) in a conflicting atmosphere between the coach and the director of football, Julien Fournier. In the summer of 2022, Mr. Ratcliffe decides to begin a new era. Mr. Fournier pays the price while Mr. Galtier, already gone to PSG, is replaced on the bench of the Aiglons by the Swiss Lucien Favre.
This experienced coach at European level (passed by Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany) had left good memories of his first visit to the Côte d’Azur between 2016 and 2018, both in terms of play and results (a third place in the league at the end of the 2016-2017 season).
But, according to Nice morning and The Teamthe poor results at the start of his second term would have already weakened Lucien Favre in the eyes of the management, the press even mentioning the name of the Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino as a possible successor. “We are not going to change coach after eight days”retorted the president of the club, Jean-Pierre Rivère.
In the transfer window, “last minute purchases”
During the summer transfer period, promising young players signed for Nice – Italian defender Mattia Viti, French midfielder Sofiane Diop and Polish goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, whose option to buy from PSG was exercised. –, not to mention striker Gaëtan Laborde (15 goals scored in L1 in 2021-2022), who donned the red and black jersey as part of an exchange with Rennes including Amine Gouiri.
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