Christophe Galtier's words in the media are rather rare.
In office in Nice for two weeks now, and after an endless soap opera on his departure from LOSC all June, the former coach of ASSE is now a happy man on the Côte d'Azur.
Currently in the midst of the preparation phase, he has drawn up a first inventory of OGC Nice, which has just lost heavily in a friendly match against Lausanne (0-3).
He also returned to his tumultuous departure from Lille, delivering some truths.
I am convinced that Nice can be a top club
Christophe galtier
Modest ninth in Ligue 1 during the 2020-2021 season, OGC Nice is coming out of a delicate season where the Riviera club has experienced more defeats than victories. The arrival of Christophe Galtier, a coach who has succeeded wherever he has been, should be a game-changer. The choice to leave Lille for the south of France could have challenged but Galtier sees big for the Gym:
“It is an important club in the French landscape, which one underestimates. I am convinced that Nice can be a top club for seasons ”
. For this, it will probably be necessary to redesign the workforce. For the moment, the Aiglons are calm on the market except the final arrival of Jean-Clair Todibo, coming from Barça, and the departure of Pierre Lees-Melou in Norwich.
So it could quickly move. Especially since the financial windfall is present. As a reminder, OGC Nice belongs to the Ratcliffe family, owner of Ineos. Here too Christophe Galtier has his ideas. First of all,
"we have to find leaders"
affirms the native of Marseille, in order to support a very young squad which lacked character last season. Dante, victim of a rupture of a cruciate ligament of the left knee at the beginning of November, could be one of them but a doubt remains on a return to 100% of the Brazilian:
“Neither him, nor me, nor the medical staff don't know, ”
admits Galtier.
Another project, the neo-coach of Nice plans to develop his training in 4-4-2, as in Lille,
"which implies recruitment on the sides and that generates a search for specific players, with depth and speed ”
. What to guide the research launched by the recruitment unit. Here too, Galtier is precise:
“I don't want names but profiles”
. To build the contours of his workforce, the champion coach of France will also have to settle the Kasper Dolberg case. Disappointing since his arrival on the shores of the Mediterranean but performing at the Euro with Denmark, the 23-year-old striker will have a discussion with him on his return:
"I will talk to him as soon as he comes back, and listen to his desires.
He can do a lot, a lot, a lot better than what he did in Nice ”
Christophe Galtier disappointed by Olivier Létang
As you will have understood, Christophe Galtier is a busy man in Nice, with a lot of pending files. On the other hand, one file was closed, that of the LOSC. And the end was not ideal. Without ever quoting him in the interview with
the Team
, the former Lille coach admits to having been disappointed by a leader. This leader is Olivier Létang. The president of the northern club retained Galtier throughout the month of June, proclaiming loud and clear that there was no agreement with Nice to release him from his last year of contract. A real
"disappointment"
for the main person concerned:
"I had the weakness to think that with my career and the legacy I had left, they could have let me go under other conditions"
. The reunion between the two men, scheduled for August 15 for a Lille-Nice counting for the second day of Ligue 1, could be very fresh.
