OGC Nice aim to avoid a repeat of last season | OneFootball

OGC Nice aim to avoid a repeat of last season’s struggle after finishing 16th and only just staying up, and hope to steer clear of the play-offs. According to L'Équipe, in a tight economic climate the club will lean on youth and locally attuned leadership, with Roger Ricort back as sporting director.

Recruitment has been limited so attention has turned to the academy. At 17, Junior Mandza, a midfielder by trade, has been moved to left-sided centre-back by head coach Olivier Pantaloni and could push for a starting role.

Mandza joined the club aged six and stands out for his passing from the back. Before signing a three-year professional deal early in the summer, he drew interest from Ligue 1 sides and Juventus even made a €3m offer. He is being urged to challenge the hierarchy.

This will be Nice’s 25th straight top-flight season, behind only PSG on 53, Lyon 38, Rennes 33, OM 31 and Lille 27, and is their longest spell, eclipsing 1948-1964’s 16 seasons.

Last term they conceded 60 league goals, only Metz were worse with 76. The last time Nice shipped as many was 1996-97 when they finished bottom, and the top division then had 20 clubs.

Since the play-offs returned in 2017, every Ligue 1 participant has eventually gone down, whether immediately or later. Nice open against Lorient on Saturday 22 August at 20.45, visit Paris FC on Sunday 30 August at 15.00, then host Le Mans on Saturday 5 September at 20.45.

Source: L'Équipe

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