Crocodiles have hard skin. At the end of the first leg, the scenario was almost tied up. Nîmes was going to accompany Toulouse in Ligue 2 at the end of the season. If the cause of Haut-Garonnais seems understood, the Gardois, they have just operated a spectacular recovery. After a poor harvest of 13 points in 19 games, they have just collected ... 12 in the last five games.
At the beginning of January, the climate within the club nevertheless seemed gloomy. Especially after the release of Laurent Boissier, the former sports director, sacked in December and now engaged with the mayor of Nîmes in the race for municipal elections. "The club has no coach," he tackled, aiming, without naming him, Bernard Blaquart. The latter is still not without qualities given the level of play posted recently by his team. The success in Nice (3-1), on February 8, attests to this with a fluid and pleasant game, embellished with great fighting spirit.
The genesis of this start was at the start of January in Peralada in Catalonia, during the preparatory course. The players and the staff then listed on a document “Objective maintenance”, ten conditions for the exploit. This roadmap posted in the locker room, speaks in particular of state of mind and offensive recruits in the transfer window. This last point was conclusive: the club hit the nail on the head with young Bordeaux midfielder Yassine Benrahou. Since his arrival, the latter, aligned as a playmaker, has rebalanced a formation sometimes too playful.
If fear changes sides ...
In Nîmes, the motto of the moment is: "To go back happy, let's go back hidden." Even if the sun has returned above the Costières stadium, no one wants to comment too much on this warm weather. "You are going to keep your eye on us with this article," smiles goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni. "I do not wish to speak on this subject at the moment," adds Blaquart.
"I understand the people of Nimes," notes Rolland Courbis, the former coach from Marseille and Bordeaux. All of this may seem fragile. But I am not surprised. For a long time, they mostly suffered from a lack of success. They were rarely dropped in games. After, it must be admitted, the arrival of young Benrahou is the good surprise of January. "
For Courbis, the other Nîmes force in 2020 is to have been able to digest the muscular injuries of two executives. "The absence of Anthony Briançon, the captain, allowed Loïc Landre to raise his level of play," he says. Same with striker Renaud Ripart, the best element of the team. Without him, everyone was remobilized. The reception of Angers this Saturday is a real turning point. If Nîmes wins again, it will put pressure on many teams who did not think in the place of roadblocks like Angers precisely or Saint-Etienne. If fear changes sides, everything is allowed for Nîmes. "