OGC Nice

OGC Nice

Full name	Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice Côte d'Azur
Nickname(s)	Les Aiglons (The Eaglets) Le Gym
Founded	9 July 1904 as Le Gymnaste Club de Nice
Ground	Allianz Riviera
Capacity	35,624
Chairman	Jean-Pierre Rivère
Manager	Claude Puel
League	Ligue 1
2014–15	Ligue 1, 11th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur (French pronunciation: ​[ɔlɛ̃pik ʒimnast nis kot daˈzyʁ]; commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice) is a French association football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top-tier of French football. Nice plays its home matches at the Allianz Riviera. Nice is managed by Claude Puel and captained by midfielder Didier Digard.

Nice was founded under the name Gymnaste Club de Nice and is one of the founding members of the first division of French football. The club has won Ligue 1 four times and the Coupe de France three times. Nice achieved most of its honours in the 1950s with the club being managed by coaches such as Numa Andoire, Englishman William Berry, and Jean Luciano. The club's last honour was winning the Coupe de France in 1997 after beating Guingamp 4–3 on penalties in the final. Nice's colours are red and black.

During the club's successful run in the 1950s, Nice were among the first French clubs to successfully integrate internationals players into the fold. Notable players include Hector De Bourgoing, Pancho González, Victor Nurenberg, and Joaquín Valle. Valle is the club's all-time leading goalscorer and, arguably, the club's greatest player.^[1]

History

Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur was founded in the residential district of Les Baumettes on 9 July 1904 under the name Gymnaste Club de Nice. The club was founded by Marquis de Massengy d'Auzac, who served as president of the Fédération Sportive des Alpes-Maritimes (Alpes-Maritimes Sporting Federation). Akin to its name, the club primarily focused on the sports of gymnastics and athletics. On 6 July 1908, in an effort to remain affiliate with the FSAM and also join the amateur federation USFSA, the head of French football at the time, Gymnaste Club de Nice split into two sections with the new section of the club being named Gymnastes Amateurs Club de Nice. The new section spawned a football club and, after two seasons, the two clubs merged. On 20 September 1919, Nice merged with local club Gallia Football Athlétic Club and, subsequently, adopted the club's red and black combination. In 1920, the club was playing in the Ligue du Sud-Est, a regional league under the watch of the French Football Federation. While playing in the league, Nice developed rivalries with Cannes and Marseille. Nice and Cannes contest the derby match that is known as the Derby de la Côte d'Azur. On 22 December 1924, the club changed its name to Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice.

In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. Nice, along with most clubs from the south, were among the first clubs to adopt the new statute and, subsequently, became professional and were founding members of the new league. In the league's inaugural season, Nice finished 7th in its group. In the following season, Nice finished 13th and were relegated from the league. The club did not play league football in the ensuing season and returned to French football in 1936 playing in Division 2. Nice spent the next three years playing in the second division. In 1939, professional football in France was abolished due to World War II. Despite this, Nice continued to play league football under amateur status with the club participating in the Ligue du Sud-Est in 1939 and the Ligue du Sud in the following seasons.

After the war, Nice returned to professional status and were inserted back into the second division. The club achieved promotion back to the first division for the 1948–49 season under the leadership of the Austrian manager Anton Marek. After two seasons of finishing in the top ten, Nice, now led by manager Jean Lardi, achieved its first-ever honour by winning the league title in the 1950–51 season. Led by French internationals Marcel Domingo, Antoine Bonifaci, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour and Jean Courteaux, as well as the Argentine duo of Pancho González and Luis Carniglia and the Swede Pär Bengtsson, Nice won the league despite finishing equal on points with Lille. Nice were declared champions due to having more wins (18) than Lille (17).^[2] In the following season, under new manager Numa Andoire, Nice won the double after winning both the league and the Coupe de France. In the league, the club defended its title by holding off both Bordeaux and Lille. In the Coupe de France final, Nice faced Bordeaux and defeated the Aquitaine club 5–3 courtesy of goals from five different players.

Nice continued its solid run in the decade by winning the Coupe de France for the second time in 1954. The club, now being led by a young and unknown Just Fontaine, faced southern rivals Marseille and earned a 2–1 victory with Victor Nuremberg and Carniglia scoring the goals. Carniglia retired from football after the season and began managing Nice. In his first season in charge, Nice won the league for a third time after being chased for the entire season by rivals Marseille and Monaco, as well as Lens and Saint-Étienne. After the campaign, Fontaine departed the club for Stade Reims. Three seasons later, Nice won the last title of the decade in 1959. The club finished the decade (1950–1959) with four league titles and two Coupe de France trophies. Nice also appeared in European competition for the first time in the 1956–57 season with the club losing to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

In subsequent decades, Nice struggled to equal the success of the 1950s with Reims and, later Saint-Étienne eclipsing the club in the 1960s and 70s. During this time, Nice regularly competed in Division 1 with the exception of two seasons in Division 2 in 1965 and 1970. In 1973 and 1976, Nice achieved a 2nd place finish in the league, its best finish since winning the league in 1959. However, following the latter finish, the club finished in lower positions in the next six seasons and were, ultimately, relegated in the 1981–82 season after finishing 19th. Nice played three seasons in the second division before returning to top flight in 1985. After six seasons a mid-table finishes, Nice was back in Division 2.

Frédéric Antonetti led Nice to the 2006 Coupe de la Ligue final.

In 1997, Nice, now back in the first division, stunned many when the club won the Coupe de France. The victory did not, however, shock most French football enthusiasts mainly due to the club's competition in the run up to the final, in which Nice faced only Division 2 clubs, excluding first division club SC Bastia. In the final, Nice defeated Guingamp 5–4 on penalties to earn cup success. However, on a sourer note, Nice were relegated from the first division only days after winning the Coupe de France in dead last in the league. The club spent five seasons in Ligue 2 and returned to Ligue 1 for the 2001–02 season. In the lead up to the season, Nice failed to meet the financial requirements set by the DNCG and were, subsequently, relegated to the Championnat National, the third level of French football. However, after achieving stability, mainly due to selling a few players, Nice were allowed in Ligue 1 after successfully appealing. In the 2005–06 season, Nice made it to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue in 2006 losing to Nancy 2–1.

Stadium

Nice moved to the Allianz Riviera in September 2013

From 1927 until 2013, Nice played its home matches at the Stade Municipal du Ray, usually shortened to simply the Stade du Ray. The stadium is, however, officially known as the Stade Léo-Lagrange, a French politician who had a stint in politics as the Assistant Secretary of State for Sport. The Stade du Ray has gone through many renovations, most recently being in 1997 and has a capacity of 17,415. The stadium is popular with supporters for being located in the center of the city, but suffers from its old structure and small capacity, as the Nice metropolitan area has over 1 million residents.

Nice began to attempt to build a new stadium in 2002. In its first attempt, the club was heavily criticised by local politicians who questioned the usefulness and format of the stadium. However, despite the critics, the club's proposition passed and excavation of the site in the plain of Var, at Nice-Lingostière, was set to begin in July 2006. The Tribunal administratif of Nice cancelled the project for irregularities committed concerning the fixation of the price of tickets. In October 2008, the new Deputy Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi declared that Nice would have a new stadium "no later than 2013". The new stadium should be built at the same place as before, at Nice-Lingostière.

On 22 September 2009, French newspaper L'Équipe reported that the Grand Stade Nice had been selected by the French Football Federation as one of the twelve stadiums to be used in the country's bidding for UEFA Euro 2016. The FFF officially made its selections on 11 November 2009 and the city of Nice was selected as a site to host matches during the tournament.^[3] The construction of the Allianz Riviera started in 2011 and completed in September 2013.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 January 2016.^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Mouez Hassen 3 DF Gautier Lloris 4 DF Paul Baysse (on loan from Saint-Étienne) 5 DF Kévin Gomis 6 MF Jean Seri 8 MF Mahamane Traoré 9 MF Hatem Ben Arfa 10 FW Mickaël Le Bihan 13 MF Niklas Hult 14 FW Alassane Pléa 15 FW Alexandre Mendy 16 GK Simon Pouplin 18 MF Remi Walter

No. Position Player 19 MF Wallyson Mallmann (on loan from Sporting Lisbon) 20 DF Maxime Le Marchand 21 MF Stéphan Raheriharimanana 22 MF Nampalys Mendy 23 DF Ricardo Pereira (on loan from Porto) 24 DF Mathieu Bodmer 25 DF Romain Genevois 26 MF Vincent Koziello 27 FW Dorian Caddy 28 FW Valère Germain (on loan from Monaco) 29 DF Jérémy Pied 30 GK Yoan Cardinale 35 DF Jonathan Correia — FW Alexy Bosetti

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Lucas Rougeaux (on loan to Boulogne) — MF Albert Rafetraniaina (on loan to Red Star 93) — MF Julien Vercauteren (on loan to Westerlo)

No. Position Player — MF Valentin Eysseric (on loan to Saint-Étienne) — FW Saïd Benrahma (on loan to Angers) — FW Bryan Constant (on loan to Fréjus Saint-Raphaël)

Reserve squad

As of 7 January 2016.^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Vicenzo Bezzina GK Anthony Mandrea GK Andrea Gambetta DF Olivier Boscagli DF Malang Sarr DF Joakim Balmy DF Deniz Ondeyer DF Lorenzo Vinci DF William Suaut DF Maxime Borges MF Ancoub Mze Ali MF Mathieu Leroux

No. Position Player MF Romain Perraud MF Arnaud Guedj MF Thomas Mendy MF Jacques Onda MF Jonathan Correia MF Patrick Burner FW Christophe Cardoso FW Franck Honorat FW Youness Diatta FW Paulin Puel FW Antony Ranieri

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.

For a complete list of OGC Nice players, see Category:OGC Nice players

Ederson David Ospina Bakari Koné Marcel Aubour Dominique Baratelli Daniel Bravo André Chorda José Cobos Carlos Curbelo Héctor De Bourgoing Olivier Echouafni Patrice Evra Koczur Ferry Jacques Foix Just Fontaine Jean-Marc Guillou Jean-Noël Huck

Roger Jouve Hugo Lloris Charly Loubet Jean Luciano Marc Molitor Loïc Rémy Joseph Ujlaki Roberto Onorati Victor Nurenberg Cédric Kanté Benjamin Osaroigwe Josep Samitier Joaquin Valle Leif Eriksson Nenad Bjeković Marko Elsner Josip Katalinski

Management and staff

Club officials

Senior club staff^[6]

• President: Jean-Pierre Rivère
• General Director: Patrick Governatori
• Assistant General Director: Eric Dellacasa
• Executive Director: Pascale Marrel
• Manager: Claude Puel

Managerial history

Dates[7] Name 1932–33 Jim McDewitt 1933–34 Johann Tandler, Edmond Kramer, Charlie Bell 1935–37 Emmanuel Levy 1937 Karel Kudrna 1937–38 Ricardo Zamora 1938–39 Josep Samitier 1945–46 Luis Valle 1946 Maurice Castro 1946–47 Jean Lardi 1947–49 Anton Marek 1949–50 Emile Veinante 1950 Elie Rous 1950–51 Jean Lardi 1951–52 Numa Andoire 1952–53 Mario Zatelli 1953–55 William Berry 1955–57 Luis Carniglia

Dates Name 1957–62 Jean Luciano 1962–64 Numa Andoire 1964–69 César "Pancho" González 1969–71 Léon Rossi 1971–74 Jean Snella 1974–76 Vlatko Marković 1976–77 Jean-Marc Guillou 1977–78 Léon Rossi 1978–79 Koczur Ferry 1979 Albert Batteux 1979–80 Léon Rossi 1980–81 Vlatko Marković 1981–82 Marcel Domingo July 1982 – June 86 Jean Sérafin 1987–89 Nenad Bjekovic 1989 Pierre Alonzo July 1989 – June 90 Carlos Bianchi July 1990 – Dec 90 Jean Fernandez

Dates Name 1990–92 Jean-Noël Huck July 1991 – June 96 Albert Emon Aug 1996 – Dec 96 Daniel Sanchez 1996–97 Silvester Takač July 1997 – June 98 Michel Renquin 1998 Silvester Takač July 1998 – Jan 99 Victor Zvunka Jan 1999 – June 00 Guy David July 2000 – June 2 Sandro Salvioni July 2002 – April 5 Gernot Rohr April 2005 – June 5 Gérard Buscher (interim) July 2005 – June 9 Frédéric Antonetti July 2009 – March 10 Didier Ollé-Nicolle March 2010 – Nov 11 Éric Roy Nov 2011 – May 12 René Marsiglia May 2012– Claude Puel

Honours

Domestic

• Ligue 1
  • Champions (4): 1951, 1952, 1956, 1959
• Ligue 2
  • Champions (4): 1948, 1965, 1970, 1994
• Division 3
  • Champions (2): 1985, 1989
• Coupe de France
  • Champions (3): 1952, 1954, 1997
  • Runners-up (1): 1978
• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Runners-up (1): 2006
• Coupe Charles Drago
  • Runners-up (1): 1958
• Championnat de France 18 ans
  • Champions (2): 2004,2012

Other

• Latin Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1952
• Coupe Mohamed V
  • Runners-up (1): 1976

References

1. "Joaquin Valle Benitez: 339 buts en 407 matchs avec le Gym" (in French). OGC Nice. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
2. "Champion de France 1951" (in French). OGC Nice. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
3. "Les 12 villes retenues" (PDF). French Football Federation. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
4. "Effectif pros" (in French). OGC Nice. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
5. "Effectif cfa" (in French). OGC Nice. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
6. "Club". OGC Nice. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
7. "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 January 2011.

External links

• Official website (French)