More Adeilson and Other Transfer Bits
By: Martha |
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For those of you who speak French and/or Portuguese or just like moving pictures, here’s Adeilson’s presentation. It’s hard to conclude much from those four-and-a-half minutes, but his words are optimistic and honest — It’s not often you hear a guy in his presentation at a new club say he’d never heard of them before they came in and made him an offer — which is definitely something.
If Ricort has his way, a very real side-effect of Adeilson’s arrival could be the departure of Modeste on loan, if Antonetti “gives the green light.” It’d be great for Modeste to play every week under less pressure somewhere, and if alleged possible destination Nancy can provide him that, awesome. More than anything else, it’s always seemed like Modeste’s biggest problem is a lack of confidence; hopefully some success elsewhere will bring him back to Nice next season with a little self-belief.
And, also, in a bit of unrelated transfer talk, it’s being reported that Gace could be headed out on loan to National side Rodez. Cripes, for real? I mean, I know he’s not playing and all, but damn, that’s a long ways down for a loan — or is this sort of move more common in France than I think?
Arras + Adeilson
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There’s allegedly football being played in the first part of this clip. I have my doubts.
Arras 1 - 3 Nice
Buts: Bellatrêche (52è) pour Arras; Ben Saada (48è), Modeste (110è), Bamogo (113è pen) pour Nice
Arras: Lambenne - De Barros, Daval, Lombard, Delépine - Bellatrêche (c), Duchateau (Diarra, 99è), Luyssen (Lamourette, 109è), Hadjal - Catelet (Bellaredj, 63è), Robail
Nice: Letizi - Apam, Hognon, Cid, Rool (c; Gace, 115è) - Jeunechamp, Traoré (Hellebuyck, 71è), Ben Saada - Quansah (Bamogo, 58è), Modeste, Mouloungui
* * *
I was going to wait to write up the Arras match until I’d watched it, but since the official site seems to have decided there’s no point in uploading something no one can see, it looks like I’m not actually going to be able to do that.
So, to sum up what everyone probably already knows, conditions where shocking (frozen pitch, crazy thick fog), so much so that that referee briefly stopped the match, and only allowed it go to on after Antonetti and Captain Cyril #1 — who was apparently just immense for the 115 minutes he was on the pitch — unleashed their legendary powers of persuasion on him. It was literally almost impossible to see what was going on throughout most of the 90 minutes, but both teams scored (so we’re told, anyway), and it wasn’t until the fog lifted in added time that Nice were able to really assert their superiority, in the form of two more goals, and secure a place in the next round.
A next round in which they will play — wait for it — Monaco. Sweet. The match will be played away, at the end of this month.
ETA: Ok, the match has been uploaded now. If I find some patience, I’ll watch it and write a more detailed response tomorrow.
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In other news, you may have heard Nice have quietly snapped up a new striker. His name is Pereira de Mello Adeilson (that’s just Adeilson to us, because he’s merciful like that), he’s 23, cost €1 million from Brazilian club Ipatinga and, if you believe the French press, the club beat out at least Bayer Leverkusen for his signature; they’ve secured his services for three-and-a-half years.
Quick News Roundup
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Spellcaster!Anto: “… And when you wake up, you will think I have a full head of hair!”
•Squad list for Arras:
Gardiens: Letizi, Moreau
Défenseurs: Apam, Cid, Gace, Hognon, Jeunechamp, Rool
Milieux: Echouafni, Faé, Hellebuyck, Traoré
Attaquants: Bamogo, Ben Saada, Modeste, Mouloungui, Ozokwo, Quansah
Rémy, Kante, and Coulibaly all have injury problems and Adu is suspended (?!), but the rest of the absences are being rested or, in the case of Barul and Moussilou, cruelly ignored. Antonetti said earlier this week that Moreau could get the start if Letizi can’t go and, though the match is being taken seriously, it’s nevertheless thought that guys like Hognon, Cid, Traoré, Ben Saada and Modeste could all figured in the first XI.
•Though he returned to Nice not yet fully recovered from the injury he picked up last month, Rémy is due to start training again on Tuesday, and is expected to be in the squad when L1 resumes on the 10th. Woo hoo!
•Not surprisingly, Roger Ricort is denying that the club are interested in either Dindane (yes, him again) or Sablé, the former because he (still) costs too much, and the latter because, well, they just don’t want him.
•During the break, both Cyril #1 (who Google translate calls “the crustiest“) and Chouf talked to Nice-Matin about the season so far, and both of them, while pleased with the 30 points the team have amassed, pointed to the canceled Grenoble match as the thing that screwed everything up because it “broke our rhythm.” Cursed rain!
•In an interview with the official site, Antonetti also gave his take on the first half, praising the team’s ability to take points even when they don’t play their best, and being his usual, eminently reasonable self in bringing some perspective to how high Nice were flying about a month ago. (He, also, lists the cancellation of the Grenoble match as one of his regrets, along with the loss to Le Havre on the season’s opening weekend.)
•Ospina was voted Nice player of the month for December, because he is just that awesome.
Happy New Year, everybody. Hopefully next time we talk, it’ll be about advancing in the Coupe de France, and not about some sort of humiliating disaster.
Category: Cyril Rool, David Ospina, Frédéric Antonetti, Loïc Rémy, Nice Team News, Olivier Echouafni, interviews, links, rumors, transfersThe Boys Are Back in Town
By: Martha | 5 Comments
Obi-Wan Letizi wishes everyone a belated, vaguely creepy Merry Christmas.
Hooray, training starts today! That means there will be something to talk about other than transfer rumors for the next couple weeks, albeit more than likely only things like “Oh, crap, Rémy’s not fit yet,” or “God dammit, Cyril #1 hurt his calf again — is the man made of glass?” Still, though, beggars can’t be choosers, and anything is better than poring over the papers in the hope of finding a rumor with an actual grain of truth in it.
So, the team will be training twice today and twice tomorrow, then once Wednesday and once Friday (they have Thursday off, because they’re soft and need to rest) before Saturday night’s Coupe de France match against amateur side Arras.
At the moment, apart from training, there’s not a lot going on — the one noisy rumor is that Nice are tracking Lens’ Julien Sablé, but that seems likely to have grown more out of the fact that Antonetti coached him at ASSE than anything else, particularly since another midfielder is probably near the bottom of Nice’s shopping list at the moment. Oh, and also, Matt Moussilou is once again (allegedly) close to leaving: The latest rumors have him going back to Qatar, the scene of his scoring binge last season. Since he’s been on his way out about five times already this year, though, we should probably wait on counting the extra cash that’ll be sitting around if he actually leaves.
In news that’s not transfer-related, David Ospina spent the break in Nice rather than going home (his family came to him, which was very understanding of them), because he had to be Barcelona over the weekend to play Catalonia as part of a makeshift Colombia team. Ospina entered the game in the 55th minute with Colombia losing 0-2 and, according to the Colombian press — who describe him as “a great goalkeeper” — made two big saves to keep Colombia in the match (Huzzah!), though they eventually lost 1-2 (Boooo.).
Not Dead! (Well, I’m not. Nice’s dreams of grandeur, however, may well be pushing up the daisies at this point.)
By: Martha | 2 Comments
Happy, happy! Joy, joy!
So sorry for disappearing, everyone — holiday time means both chaos and a lot of travel for me (and a lot of other people), and I’ve not got time to even read about Nice right now, let alone download and watch the match. (In troubling news, the team have taken one point and scored one goal in the three matches I’ve missed — if I’m unwittingly controlling their collective destiny, everyone is in serious trouble.) My plan is to be back on task after Christmas, so hopefully I’ll be back around to dispense copious transfer rumors, as well as for preseason training and the restart in January.
Until then, I hope everyone has better holiday seasons than Nice are currently struggling through — I’ll see you all in a couple weeks.
Category: Nice Team NewsNewsie Odds and Ends
By: Martha | 6 Comments
[Not as scared of Baky and Ben Arfa as he looks. Probably.]
•The Grenoble match will be played either a week from today or on the 17th of this month. The 10th was the league’s initial proposal, but Pierre Wantiez had a fit about Nice getting an extra day of rest, so it could be pushed back a week. (In response to the fit, Antonetti turned on the sarcasm and suggested that maybe a strike is in order, if only to ensure three full days of rest between matches. Oh, snap!)
•Out of concern for the proverbial “public safety,” the police have stepped in and forced the cancellation of the special train that was to take Nice supporters to the OM match. In light of past problems, one understands their concerns, but Nice’s security guy had a point when he suggested it’d be a lot easier for police to manage the supporters if they were all in one place, rather than arriving as they will now, via bus and car, at various times and locations.
•The official site has an interview with Chouf ahead of the match, in which he’s characteristically cautious, and also expresses some concern about the team going two weeks between games.
•Nice Premium ran a long interview with Maurice Cohen on Sunday, and even through the filter of Google translate, it’s well worth a read. Among other topics, he discusses the status of the club’s youth program, if there will be any winter signings, what’s up with Chouf’s and Letizi’s contracts, and how the defense will stand at this time next season. (He also reveals that Cyril #2 has a clause in his contract whereby it’s automatically extended if he reaches a designated number of appearances. That’s, like, flying car technology right there!)
•On the topic of signings, a couple different sources are reporting that Nice are tracking Monaco’s Camel Meriem. No idea of there’s any validity to the stories at all, though. Anyone?
•Via the OGC Nissa forums, here’s an Infosport feature on Nice from last week that includes some of the yelling at Habib! (among others) that I’m always talking about. It’s hilarious even to me, so I’m guessing people who actually understand French will enjoy it, as well.
•And, finally, I can’t find the original source, but one of the fan sites is reporting that Antonetti has officially announced the gloves are Ospina’s after Christmas. Nice. (Nahhhc, not Neece.) He also may end up playing against OM, depending on how Letizi’s feeling — the old man didn’t train at all yesterday.
ETA: The train to Marseille has been un-canceled.
Category: David Ospina, Frédéric Antonetti, Maurice Cohen, Nice Team News, Olivier Echouafni, interviews, links, rumors, transfersNice-Grenoble: Never Mind.
By: Martha | 3 Comments
Singin’ in the rain.
Conditions were so bad that the match was postponed yesterday, and then put off again today. For what it’s worth, here’s the lineup that would have taken the field — for the second match in a row, Rémy was in the squad but didn’t even made the bench. By next weekend, one hopes, he’ll at least be a sub, sitting next to his buddy Ospina, whose third L1 start will have to wait.
There’s no word yet on when the match will be played, but it’d be nice (ha ha) to get it done before Christmas, so everyone goes into the break on equal terms.
The team are back in wet training on Monday.
Category: reportsSquad List for Grenoble (And Not Much More)
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“So this is snow, huh? I don’t get it.”
Gardiens: Moreau, Ospina
Défenseurs: Apam, Cid, Diakité, Hognon, Kanté, Rool
Milieux: Coulibaly, Echouafni, Faé, Hellebuyck, Jeunechamp, Traoré
Attaquants: Bamogo, Ben Saada, Modeste, Mouloungui, Rémy
Absents: Letizi, Ozokwo (blessés), Adu, Barul, Gace, Moussilou, Quansah (choix de l’entraîneur)
* * *
Sorry I’ve not been around this week — travel, family and Thanksgiving seriously cut into my interwebs time, so I’m way behind. What I do know, though, is that Letizi’s got some sort of abdominal problem, so Ospina will make his third L1 start tomorrow. And Grenoble won’t make life easy for him — they’ve got the fourth-best away record in the league and, were it not for their dire home record, would be a lot higher in the table. Definitely not a team to be taken lightly.
I’ve got to get back to grind of eating, but I’ll be back with a match report early next week, if not before. Until then, here’s an article about all Nice’s old people that, somewhat factiously, points out that there are two similarities between Nice and Milan: They both wear red and black, and both also rely heavily on the aged. (Oh, and both teams are second in the table. That’s a bonus similarity.) Additionally, there’s a nice (ha ha) article at UEFA.com about the team that sort of sums up the season thus far, celebrating the new additions and throwing some love the way of Chouf and Cyril #1.
ASSE 0-1 Nice + Some Editorializing
By: Martha | 4 Comments
Who does he think he is, Gerd Müller?
ASSE 0-1 Nice
But: Echouafni (20è) pour Nice
St Etienne: Janot - Andreu, Benalouane, Varrault, Sauget - Machado, Hautcoeur, Dernis (Payet, 73è) - Ilan (c), Gomis (Gigliotti, 82è), Mirallas (Matsui, 64è)
Nice: Letizi - Diakité, Apam, Kanté, Rool - Echouafni (c), Coulibaly (Jeunechamp, 73è), Faé, Hellebuyck - Bamogo (Modeste, 58è), Mouloungui (Cid, 94è)
* * *
There’s not really much to say about this match, apart from that it was just the sort of ugly win that makes you really proud of a team. The three points won were nothing to do with ability, and everything to do with desire, organization, and fight; points that have to be gutted out if Nice are dreaming of an extend stay within shouting distance of where they are in the table right now.
Conditions were dreadful and, for essentially the whole match, it was 10 men behind the ball and a whole lot of running from everyone in red and black. Ugly or not, it was awesome to see how hard everyone worked — Bamogo did nothing but defend for long stretches, and Hellebuyck, who must be the fittest man in the world, was all over the pitch, particularly late when legs were going and no one else could get forward. He was immense.
Really, it’s hard to think of much to add to Anonetti’s postmatch comments, particularly the bit where he said “I [take my] hat off to our defense that was heroic.” Damn right. This team have given up one goal (against five scored) in their last four league matches and, apart from some lapses against Lorient, the defense — including Letizi, who doesn’t get many style points, but is there when he needs to be — has looked nearly impenetrable. I don’t care who you’re playing, those are impressive numbers. After a preseason spent leaking goals, I don’t think anyone would have guessed a Lloris-free Nice would be defending this convincingly, even by late November.
Category: David Hellebuyck, Frédéric Antonetti, Loïc Rémy, Nice Team News, Olivier Echouafni, reports, videoSo There’s Proof It Happened
By: Martha | 9 Comments
Second in the table, Olvier Echouafni joint-third leading scoring. Look out for flying pigs.
Category: Nice Team News
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