Friday, November 15, 2024 - 01:31:59 AM

Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Cote d'Azur (French pronunciation"olepik zimnast kloeb nie[olepik zimnast kloeb) is often referred to in the form of OGC Nice as well as simply Nice is a French professional football club that is based in Nice. The club was established in 1904 and is currently within Ligue 1, the top league in French football. Nice hosts its home games on the Allianz Riviera.

Nice was established with the title Gymnaste Club de Nice and is among the first players of the premier division in French football. The club has been a winner of Ligue 1 four times, the Trophee of Champions once as well as the Coupe de France three times. The majority of the club's awards in the 1950s, with the club run by coaches like Numa Andoire Englishman William Berry, and Jean Luciano. The club's greatest achievement was to win the Coupe de France in 1997 after beating Guingamp 4-3 in penalties during the finale. Nice's colors are black and red.

The club's run was a success in the 1950s Nice were one of one of the first French club to incorporate international players into their group. The most notable players are Hector De Bourgoing, Pancho Gonzales, Victor Nurenberg, and Joaquin Valle, the latter being the club's most prolific goal scorer and possibly the best player.

1. History

Gymnaste Club 'Azur was founded in the residential area in Les Baumettes on 9 July 1904 under the name Gymnaste Club. The club was established in 1904 by Marquis de Massingy d'Auzac, who was head of Federation Sportive des Alpes-Maritimes (Alpes-Maritimes Sporting Federation). Similar to its name, the club's primary focus was the athletics and gymnastics. The 6th July of 1908 was in order to stay associated with the FSAM as well as become a member of the amateur association USFSA that was the leader of French soccer at that time Gymnaste Club de Nice was split into two sections, the new section called Gymnastes Amateurs Club de Nice. The new section was the birthplace of an football club, and after two years the two clubs joined. On September 20, 1919, Nice merged with local club Gallia Football Athletic Club. The club later adopted the club's black and red combination. In 1920 the club was participating within the Ligue du Sud-Est, a regional league that was under the supervision by the French Football Federation. In the league Nice established rivalries to Cannes in addition to Marseille. On 22nd December 1924 it changed the name of its club to Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice.

In the month of July, 1930 in 1930, in July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation approved a vote of 128-20 to support professionalism in French football. Nice as well as the majority of clubs located in southern France are among the very first teams to sign the new rules and became professional and were the first members of the league. In the inaugural season of the league, Nice finished seventh in its group. The following year, Nice finished 13th and was relegated to the league. The club didn't play league football during the following season. They was back to French soccer in the year 1936 in Division 2. Nice was able to spend the following three years within the 2nd division. In 1939 professional football in France was eliminated because of World War II. However, Nice continued to play league football as an amateur club and Nice was part of the Ligue du Sud-Est in 1939 and then the Ligue du Sud in the subsequent seasons.

Following World War II, Nice was reinstated to professional status, and were returned to the 2nd division. The club was promoted into the top division during the 1948-49 season under management of Austrian director Anton Marek. After two years of being among the top ten spots, Nice was now ruled by director Jean Lardi, achieved its first-ever honor by winning the league title during the season 1950/51. The team was led by French internationals Marcel Domingo, Antoine Bonifaci, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, and Jean Courteaux, as well as the Argentine duo of Pancho Gonzales and Luis Carniglia and the Swede Par Bengtsson. Nice was crowned league champions even though it was in the same position on points with Lille. Nice was named champions because it had greater winnings (18) over Lille (17). The subsequent season, under the newly appointed manager Numa Andoire Nice was crowned champions after winning the league as well as the Coupe de France. For the league competition, Nice was able to defend its title by holding off Bordeaux as well as Lille. The Coupe de France final, Nice was up against Bordeaux and lost to the Aquitaine club 5-3 , thanks to goals scored by several players.

Nice continued to enjoy a successful run throughout the decade, taking home the Coupe de France for the second time in 1954. The club, currently managed by a new and unproven Just Fontaine, faced southern rivals Marseille and won an 1-0 win which saw Victor Nuremberg and Carniglia scoring the goals. Carniglia quit football at the end of the season, and took over as manager of Nice. In his first year in the club, Nice won the league for the third time in a row after being pursued all season long from rivals Marseille and Monaco and Lens as well as Saint-Etienne. Following the season, Fontaine departed the club to join Stade de Reims. Three years following, Nice won the last title of the decade in the year 1959. The club ended its period (1950-1959) by winning four titles in the league as well as two Coupe de France trophies. Nice also participated at the level of European contest for the first time during the 1956-57 season. They lost against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

In the years following, Nice struggled to equal the glory in the 1950s, with Reims and later Saint-Etienne, which was able to surpass the club in the 1960s and 1970s. At this point, Nice regularly competed in Division 1 with the only two seasons of Division 2 in 1965 and 1970. Between 1973 and 1976 Nice was able to secure a 2nd-place finishing at the top of the table, which was its most successful finish since winning competition in 1958. After the second finishing, the club finished in lower positions over the subsequent six seasons and were then relegated for the 1981-82 season following finishing 19th. Nice was within the 2nd division prior to being promoted to the highest division in 1985. After six years of finishing in mid-table positions, Nice returned to Division 2.

The year 1997 saw Nice which is now in first division surprised many by winning it the Coupe de France. But, the win was not shocking to most French football fans due to the fact that the club played prior to the final match, where Nice played only Division 2 teams, with the exception for the first division club Bastia. In the final match, Nice won against Guingamp 5-4 in penalties to win the cup. In a more negative point, Nice were relegated from the first division just weeks after they won the Coupe de France in dead the last league. The club played 5 seasons playing within Ligue 2 and returned to Ligue 1 for the 2001-02 season. In the run-up to the start of the season, Nice was unable to fulfill the financial criteria that were set in the DNCG and was then moved into the Championnat National, the third grade that plays French football. But, once it had stabilized through the sale of several members, Nice was allowed in Ligue 1 after successfully appealing. In the 2005-06 season Nice reached Finale of Coupe de la Ligue in 2006 but lost to Nancy by a score of 2-1.

In 2016 the year 2016, a Chinese along with an American consortium headed by Chien Lee and Alex Zheng purchased 80% of the club. For the year 2016-17 Ligue 1 season, Nice placed at third place in its final league standings, and was able to qualify for the final round of the UEFA Champions League.

On the 11th of June, 2018, Patrick Vieira was announced as Nice manager to replace Lucien Favre. The 2018-19 campaign saw Nice was ranked 7th spot on the table.

In July it was revealed the news that Jim Ratcliffe acquired the French club for EUR100 million.

Following a slump in results led to Nice being ranked 11th at the top of Ligue 1 and eliminated from the Europa League, manager Patrick Vieira was dismissed. Vieira's assistant Adrian Ursea, took over as interim manager. Nice would end its 2020-21 Ligue 1 season in ninth position in the list.

On June 28, 2021 Christophe Galtier was appointed as head coach. On June 27, 2022 Lucien Favre returned to Nice as manager.

 

2. Home Stadium

From 1927 to 2013 Nice was home to its matches from 1927 to 2013 at from 1927 until 2013. It was the Stade Municipal du Ray, commonly shortened to Stade du Ray. However, the stadium is officially referred to as the Stade Leo-Lagrange. The name is derived from Leo-Lagrange, a French politician who served an active political career as an vice secretary for state sports. It is the Stade du Ray has gone through several renovations, with the most recently in 1997, and has capacity of 17415. The stadium was well-loved by fans due to its location close to the heart of the city, however it was hampered by its age and limited capacity, considering that there is a lot of capacity in Nice metropolitan area is home to more than one million inhabitants.

Nice began the process of trying to construct a new stadium in 2002. At the beginning the club was condemned from local officials who doubted the value and design for the new stadium. However, despite the criticisms the club's proposal was accepted and the excavation of the site located in the plains of Var located in Nice-Lingostiere began in July. It was then that the Tribunal Administration of Nice was able to cancel the project due to violations committed in relation to the fixing of ticket prices. On October 28, 2008, Nice's then vice-mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, announced that Nice would be getting an additional arena "no later than 2013". This new venue was scheduled to be built in the same site as the previous one in Nice-Lingostiere.

On the 22nd September 2009 French publication L'Equipe reported that the Grand Stade Nice was chosen as a finalist by the French Football Federation (FFF) as one of the 12 stadiums to be utilized for France's campaign to host UEFA Euro 2016. The FFF officially announced its selections on the 11th of November, 2009 as well as the town of Nice was chosen as a location to host games in the tournament. It was constructed Allianz Riviera started in 2011 and was completed in September 2013.

3. Players

.

3.1. Current Squad

As of 18 September 2022.

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  DEN Kasper Schmeichel
4 DF  BRA Dante (captain)
5 DF  DEN Mads Bech Sørensen (on loan from Brentford)
6 MF  FRA Morgan Schneiderlin
7 FW  ALG Andy Delort
8 MF  NED Pablo Rosario
10 MF  FRA Sofiane Diop
11 MF  ENG Ross Barkley
14 MF  ALG Billal Brahimi
15 DF  ENG Joe Bryan (on loan from Fulham)
16 MF  WAL Aaron Ramsey
18 MF  ROU RareÈ™ Ilie
19 MF  FRA Khéphren Thuram
20 DF  ALG Youcef Atal
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF  FRA Alexis Beka Beka
23 DF   SUI Jordan Lotomba
24 FW  FRA Gaëtan Laborde
25 DF  FRA Jean-Clair Todibo
26 DF  FRA Melvin Bard
28 MF  ALG Hicham Boudaoui
29 FW  CIV Nicolas Pépé (on loan from Arsenal)
35 MF  FRA Badredine Bouanani
42 DF  ITA Mattia Viti
77 GK  ALG Teddy Boulhendi
90 GK  POL Marcin BuÅ‚ka
97 FW  FRA Lucas Da Cunha
99 MF  GAB Mario Lemina

3.2. Out On Loan

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  CIV Kouadio Ange Ahoussou (to Châteauroux until 30 June 2023)
DF  BRA Robson Bambu (to Corinthians until 31 December 2022)
DF  CAN Justin Smith (to Quevilly-Rouen until 30 June 2023)
MF  CIV Jean N'Guessan (to Nîmes until 30 June 2023)
FW  NED Calvin Stengs (to Royal Antwerp until 30 June 2023)
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  FRA Evann Guessand (to Nantes until 30 June 2023)
FW  IRL Deji Sotona (to Kilmarnock until 31 May 2023)
FW  FRA Alexis Claude-Maurice (to RC Lens until 30 June 2023)
FW  DEN Kasper Dolberg (to Sevilla until 30 June 2023)

3.3. Reserve squad

As of the 2021–22 season

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  CMR Jacques Mbiandjeu
GK  POR Henrique Tavares
GK  FRA Enzo Vita
DF  FRA Yannis Peyaud
DF  FRA Noah Crétier
DF  FRA MaÑ‘l Caisson
33 DF  FRA Antoine Mendy
34 DF  FRA Yannis Nahounou
DF  FRA NathanaÑ‘l Abiba Sefu
DF  BEL Ardjouma Junior Diomandé
DF  FRA Belele Houimel
DF  FRA Théo Pionnier
MF  FRA Jawad Dramé
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  POR André Cabral
MF  FRA Paul Wade
MF  ANG Joao Beni Antonio
MF  FRA Soudeysse Kari
MF  FRA Tom Louchet
FW  FRA Timothé Trojani
MF  FRA Théo Trinker
MF  FRA Aziard M'Changama
37 MF  FRA Reda Belahyane
FW  FRA Kharvarn Williams
FW  FRA Karim Belmahi
FW  FRA Lorenzo Depuidt

3.4. Notable former players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Nice in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1904. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club.

France
  •  Marcel Aubour
  •  Dominique Baratelli
  •  Éric Bauthéac
  •  Hatem Ben Arfa
  •  Daniel Bravo
  •  André Chorda
  •  José Cobos
  •  Carlos Curbelo
  •  Wylan Cyprien
  •  Héctor De Bourgoing
  •  Didier Digard
  •  Olivier Echouafni
  •  Patrice Evra
  •  Valentin Eysseric
  •  Koczur Ferry
  •  Jacques Foix
  •  Just Fontaine
  •  Jean-Marc Guillou
  •  Jean-Noël Huck
  •  Roger Jouve
  •  Charles Marchetti
  •  Pierre Lees-Melou
  •  Hugo Lloris
  •  Charly Loubet
  •  Jean Luciano
  •  Marc Molitor
  •  Alassane Pléa
  •  Loïc Rémy
  •  Malang Sarr
  •  Joseph Ujlaki
Argentina
Brazil

 

Colombia
Haiti
  •  Romain Genevois
Italy
  •  Mario Balotelli
Ivory Coast
Luxembourg
  •  Victor Nurenberg
Mali
  •  Cédric Kanté
  •  Mahamane Traoré
Portugal
  •  Ricardo Pereira
Senegal
Serbia
  •  Nemanja Pejčinović
Spain
  •  Josep Samitier
  •  Joaquín Valle
Sweden
  •  Leif Eriksson
Yugoslavia
  •  Nenad Bjeković
  •  Marko Elsner
  •  Josip Katalinski

4. Management and Staff

.

4.1. Club officials

Senior club staff
  • Owner(s): Ineos
  • President: Jean-Pierre Rivère
  • Director of football: Julien Fournier
  • Head coach: Lucien Favre
  • Assistant coach: Frédéric Gioria
  • Assistant coach: Arjan Peço
  • Assistant coach: Christophe Moulin
  • Fitness coach: Nicolas Dyon
  • Rehab coach: Christopher Juras
  • Goalkeeping coach: Nicolas Dehon

4.2. Coaching history

Dates Coach
1932–1933  Jim McDewitt
1933–1934  Johann Tandler
 Edmond Kramer (interim)
 Charlie Bell
1935–1937  Emmanuel Lowy [fr]
1937  Karel Kudrna
1937–1938  Ricardo Zamora
1938–1939  Josep Samitier
1945–1946  Luis Valle [fr]
1946  Maurice Castro
1946–1947  Giovanni Lardi [fr]
1947–1949  Anton Marek
1949–1950  Émile Veinante
1950  Elie Rous
1950–1951  Giovanni Lardi [fr]
1951–1952  Numa Andoire
1952–1953  Mario Zatelli
1953–1955  Bill Berry
1955–1957  Luis Carniglia
1957–1962  Jean Luciano
 
Dates Coach
1962–1964  Numa Andoire
1964–1969  Pancho Gonzales
1969–1971  Léon Rossi [fr]
1971–1974  Jean Snella
1974–1976  Vlatko Marković
1976–1977  Jean-Marc Guillou
1977–1978  Léon Rossi [fr]
1978–1979  Koczur Ferry
1979  Albert Batteux
1979–1980  Léon Rossi [fr]
1980–1981  Vlatko Marković
1981–1982  Marcel Domingo
1982–1986  Jean Sérafin
1987–1989  Nenad Bjeković
1989  Pierre Alonzo
1989–1990  Carlos Bianchi
1990  Jean Fernandez
1990–1992  Jean-Noël Huck
1992–1996  Albert Emon
 
Dates Coach
1996  Daniel Sanchez
1996–1997  Silvester Takač
1997–1998  Michel Renquin
1998  Silvester Takač
1998–1999  Victor Zvunka
1999–2000  Guy David
2000–2002  Sandro Salvioni
2002–2005  Gernot Rohr
2005  Gérard Buscher (interim)
2005–2009  Frédéric Antonetti
2009–2010  Didier Ollé-Nicolle
2010–2011  Eric Roy
2011–2012  René Marsiglia
2012–2016  Claude Puel
2016–2018  Lucien Favre
2018–2020  Patrick Vieira
2020–2021  Adrian Ursea
2021–2022  Christophe Galtier
2022–  Lucien Favre

5. Honours

.

5.1. Domestic

  • Ligue 1
    • Champions (4): 1950–51, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1958–59
    • Runners-up: 1972–73, 1975–76
  • Ligue 2
    • Champions (4): 1947–48, 1964–65, 1969–70, 1993–94
  • Division 3
    • Champions (2): 1984–85, 1988–89
  • Coupe de France
    • Champions (3): 1951–52, 1953–54, 1996–97
    • Runners-up: 1977–78, 2021–22
  • Trophee des Champions
    • Champions: 1970

5.2. Other

  • Latin Cup
    • Runners-up (1): 1952

FAQ

Participations. In September 2022, Nice had participated in 3 versions of the European Cup / UEFA Champions League.

1997

The club's greatest achievement came from taking home the Coupe de France in 1997 after beating Guingamp 4-3 with penalties during the last match.

 

OGC Nice is one of the most successful teams in France with the title of four national champions as well as the three Coupe de France victories. The OGC abbreviation means Olympique Gymnaste Club goes back to the beginning of the club's history when the club was renamed Gymnaste Club de Nice.

Nice, France

 

INEOS

INEOS Capital Limited is a British multinational chemical company that is headquartered and located in London. At the time of its 2021 anniversary it was the fourth-largest chemical company in the world.

Ligue 1

Coupe de France

22 August 2019

They later were crowned the winners of their 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d'Italia with the Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal. On August 22, 2019 the French competition authority allowed the EUR100 million purchase by Ligue 1 club OGC Nice from Chinese-American businessman Chien Lee through Ineos.

 

There's a valid reason why the club is known as Le Gym. When it was established in 1904 it was the Gymnasts' football club in Nice but only adopted its Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice name for itself in 1924.

Ratcliffe's Ineos are the owners of French club Nice following the signing of a deal to buy Nice's Ligue 1 outfit for PS88.77million during the spring of 2019 With the British billionaire's team finishing in fifth place on the French top flight last season.

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