I won’t bore you with a long report on the Le Havre match, but I watched it this morning and, in general, was pretty impressed. Nice dominated the first half, thanks in part to a massive performance by Faé, and Modeste played the best 45 minutes I’ve ever seen out of him — he was trying all sorts of things he usually won’t even consider, and most of them were coming off, including a Zlatan-esque backheeled pass for Faé that he took out of the air and played perfectly into space. I’ve said it before and it doesn’t take a genius to recognize it, but confidence is everything to Modeste, and if he can just keep his head right, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. (Hopefully the fact that Antonetti has decided not to send him out on loan will help with that, rather than seem him doomed to a second half spent sitting at the end of the bench, watching Adeilson play.)

Faé faded a lot in the second half, and it’s no coincidence that Nice’s hold on the match did, too — in the 4-3-3, it seems like they really need him to dominate the midfield (which is asking a lot), because if he doesn’t, those middle three end up doing nothing but chasing the ball. Luckily, Hellebuyck is a machine, and Le Havre’s passing in the final third was dreadful, as was most of their shooting, so the ease with which they broke through the midfield on the counter came to nothing.

In addition to Modeste and Faé (for a half), Diakité also had a strong match — it’s rare for him to stand out as much as he did on Tuesday, and it was really nice to see. He got forward well, and made a crucial, sliding intervention in the second half, when a Le Havre player (can’t remember who, sorry) was in alone on goal. In goal, Letizi didn’t have much to do, apart from catch the periodic hopeful cross and watch balls fly over his head, but he earn his pay in the 89th minute with a flying save off a free kick. The old man has still got skills to go with his class — Nice really are lucky to have him.

Also, Kanté is a beast, but we knew that already. It would be awful to lose him, particularly with more teams circling Apam every day.

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In scheduling news:

•The draw for the semis was held today, and Nice get to play at home again. Woo hoo! Vannes will come calling February 3rd or 4th.

•The Nancy match has been rescheduled for February 17th, after the trip to Le Mans.

Apam played right back and got forward well a couple of times, creating a few of Nigeria’s handful of chances. Because of way the match went in the second half, Ospina had very little to do, but he did tip a shot over the bar well (in the highlights here), and also pulled off an insane diving header with a striker’s boot bearing down on him. I have no idea why he thought his head was a better tool for the moment than his right boot, but it was crazy brave — in the real sense of the word, not the way Ray Hudson (to whom “brave” seems to mean “breathing”) uses it. And, to make the whole thing even more bizarre, the attacker was flagged for offside, though there was no way for Ospina to know that when he unveiled his header skills.

Elsewhere:

•Faé played all 90 minutes for Ivory Coast in their 2-2 draw with Israel. According to the official Nice site, it was his shot that was deflected in by the Israeli keeper for Ivory Coast’s second goal.

•Gabon seem to have drawn 3-3 with Guinea, but I have no idea whether Mouloungui scored, assisted on anything, or even played. If anyone has a good source for African results, please drop it in the comments, I’m totally at a loss.

•Tunisia drew 0-0 away to Ghana; it doesn’t look like Ben Saada got on the pitch, if he even made the bench.

Back in France, meanwhile, David Hellebuyck is officially tied for the league lead with five assists (more than his total for the entire 2007-2008 season), a fact that apparently made him very flustered when the Nice Media Minions asked him about it today. Aw. When he wasn’t being embarrassed, Hellebuyck preached caution about facing a desperate ASSE side this weekend, and gave welcome assurances about his health — he’s not had any problems with his knee for all of two weeks, which is apparently cause for great celebration.

Gardiens: Letizi, Ospina
Défenseurs: Apam, Cid, Diakité, Hognon, Kanté, Rool
Milieux: Coulibaly, Echouafni, Faé, Hellebuyck, Jeunechamp
Attaquants: Bamogo, Ben Saada, Modeste, Mouloungui, Quansah
Absents: Traoré, Rémy (blessés), Adu, Barul, Gace, Moreau, Moussilou, Ozokwo (choix de l’entraîneur)

Away from tomorrow’s squad, there were at least three articles about Emerse Faé in various French outlets yesterday. Did he hold an all-press conference call, or something? I guess, as a former Nantes player, he’s the obvious person to talk to as the media try in uselessly to generate neutral interest in the match — it was worth a try, anyway. Sadly for the press, Faé didn’t have anything controversial to say, though he nevertheless didn’t shy away from agreeing with the assertion that there are significant problems at Nantes, problems that were not solved by their brief stay in L2. (Not exactly an earth-shattering revelation.) As a kid at Nantes, because of the problems there, he thought constant “tension off the field” was the norm, which is among the saddest things I’ve ever heard. Happily, though, Nice is showing him otherwise, and he’s loving life on the Côte d’Azur, in no small part because he’s playing regularly after a year in the stands in England.

Doing their part in the build-up, Ouest France ran an interview with Antonetti, who assured them he’s “very much in Nice” and that his family loves the city so he’s not going anywhere. (Cross your fingers, everyone.) He also talks about the insane youth of his team — despite the ancient people who are central to Nice, 16 of the players on the roster are between 18 and 22 years old (GOOD GOD) — and assures the reporter the team can still improve in every area.

If I find a stream tomorrow, I’ll put it up. Otherwise, enjoy your minute-by-minute text updates, everyone!

ETA: Lots of streams here, and not just the TV-aimed-at-webcam kind.

•Ben Saada played 10 minutes of Tunisia’s 1-3 friendly loss to France yesterday. Friendly or not, it was a big match for him personally, since he’s French-born and won a U-17 title in a France shirt before choosing Tunisia as his senior side. (Based on his grinny, pre-match interview, though, he’s never had much regret about the choice.)

•Quansah scored on a free kick to beat Gambia 1-0, putting Ghana’s U20s into their first Africa Youth Championships since 2001. W00t! (Thanks to commenter Mawuli for the heads-up.)

•There’s still work to do for Rémy, who played 92 minutes (and then was subbed) in the Bleuets’ 1-1 draw with Germany last week, and is quietly confident ahead of today’s massive, all-or-nothing second leg.

•In actual Nice team news, Kanté is suspended for the derby because of accumulated yellows. Superb.

•Letizi missed training yesterday with a calf strain, but he’s hoping to be back on the pitch today. (What a L1 debut Monaco would be for Ospina, huh? No pressure, kiddo.)

•Lots of prematch quotes here, from Faé, Cyril #1, and Hellebuyck, none of whom even bother to throw out the old “it’s just another match” line, given that the match would be massive even if it wasn’t the freaking derby.

•The gaffer, meanwhile, is already working the referees, saying he remembers near-violent conduct from Monaco last season, but — picture a very serious, slightly sad expression on Antonetti’s round face for this bit — that now he “hope[s for] fair arbitration.”

•And, finally, Roger Ricort and Eric Roy gave what is actually a pretty interesting interview radio interview this week. The full interview is up at ogcnice.tv, if you pay for that, but if not, the high points are here, including discussion of the futures of Matt Moussilou and Morrisson Ozokwo (the latter is rendered confusedly by Google Translate), a touch of regret about what happened with Laslandes, and vague plans to buy in the winter transfer window.

Now, if you’re anywhere near Nice, get offline and to the team store so you can see Cyril #1 and Ospina present the new kit. Go! Take pictures!

Le Havre 1-0 Nice
Goal : Lesage (71è) for Le Havre

Le Havre: Revault (c) – Hénin, Sambou, Ba, Kana-Biyik (Tixier, 22è) – Youssouf (Alassane, 54è), Davidas, Dieuze, Ait Ben Idir – Fauré (Alla, 68è), Lesage

Nice: Letizi – Diakité, Hognon, Kanté, Jeunechamp – Echouafni (c), Faé, Hellebuyck – Traoré (Ben Saada, 70è), Rémy, Bamogo (Modeste, 69è)

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Still haven’t seen the match, nor any highlights longer than a minute or two, and am more than a little irritated that the club decided to wait until the weekend the season started to overhaul the pay section of the website. Could they not have done this, I dunno, any time in the last three months?! A teaser video is a long, long way from the highlights and full matches that are usually there. ARG. If this keeps up I may resort to violence. (Or begging people for torrents. Anyone?)

I don’t feel comfortable analyzing something I’ve not seen in any depth, but from reading the various reports and forum posts, it sounds like Nice dominated play but were unable to really threaten the Le Havre goal. The home side’s goal — scored in the 72nd minute — came after Hognan dove in, and the shot went off Kanté’s back, leaving Letizi with no chance. A totally unlucky loss, but it counts nonetheless.

Everyone is understandably disappointed, but considering the match was played without two starting defenders and with brand new players in the lineup for the first time, there were reportedly several positives to be found, primarily in the performances of those new players. To a man, everyone who saw the match has great things to say about Rémy, who worked worked his tail off and was Nice’s most dangerous player by far. Faé, too, has been getting a lot of praise, as has late substitute Ben Saada, who only got about 20 minutes but could well start next week. (Plus, losing the opener to a promotion side is anything but a sign of disaster — maybe it’s good omen, after last year’s finish!)

The most commonly cited problems, meanwhile, are just what we expected: The keeper (Letizi wasn’t at fault for the goal, but he made several errors during the course of the match, and continues to inspire fear among supporters) and, in the absence of Ederson, the lack of a #10 to provide connection between the midfield and the attack. The solution to the first problem is sitting on the bench, it’s only a question of which Antontetti decides Ospina is ready, and feels comfortable using him. The second problem, however, is a whole lot more difficult to solve. Ben Saada, who is apparently quite a passer, might be an option, slotting in behind the striker(s), but other than that option I’m not sure who there is in the current squad would could make linking up easier. Ideally, of course, the solution is just time, and getting the new midfielders used to playing together, and used to Rémy.

The team are back in training today after a day off and, baring disaster, Cyril #1 will be back in the team for the home opener against Nancy. I, meanwhile, will be feverishly refreshing ogcnice.tv in the hope that it goes live sometimes between now and then.

And, for those of you who (like me) enjoy such things, there are match pictures under the cut.

The fact that Baky wants to go to l’OM is no surprise — it’s a bigger club with a ground four times the size of the Stade du Ray, a Champions League place, and, if you ask them, a legit shot at knocking Lyon off their Ligue 1 pedestal. Plus, based on the salary rumors floating around the Nice forums, making the move would more than double his salary, bringing him up to nearly €2 million/season — who could say no to that? But! Nice have never said they’re against the sale, they just want what they consider fair value for the player; why go on what amounts to strike against the team that’s in the process of trying to get you what you want? Now he’s got Cohen pissed off at him, which will not exactly put him in the mood to compromise. Me, I’m not pissed about Baky’s decision just, as I said, disappointed. It’s such a silly thing to do, burning bridges like this on the way out of a club. I mean, you never know what the future holds, right? (That said, at least he’s not run off to Marseille and refused to come home — I will give him that.)

The most recent offer from Marseille that anyone knows about was for €8.5 million, with a possible bonus of €1 million if they get past the first Champions League round, but Cohen has dug in his heels for €12 million; we’ll see if Baky’s one-man strike accelerates things today. Then, after he goes, we can start talking about all the rumored replacements. Mmm … rumors.

In quick non-Kone news: Everyone who was training in Nice has gone on to Vichy, including the three trialists and a few youth players. Apam, Diakité, Kanté, Traoré, Coulibaly and Ben Saada are still on vacation after their WC Qualifiers and will join the team next Monday, while Emerse Faé’s holiday is over, and he’ll meet the team in Vichy. David Ospina, meanwhile, will arrive tomorrow to begin the Process of Becoming Niçoise. According to the club, the Process won’t be finished before Thursday — apparently the physical is very demanding — and he’ll start training next Monday, when all the African rejoin the team.

In addition to the Africans who got an extra week off because of the World Cup qualifiers they played in last month (Apam, Diakité, Faé, Kanté, Traoré), and Patrick Barul, who is off on trial with Norwich, several other familiar faces were missing, and won’t be coming back.

•Ederson (€15 million last winter to Lyon)

•Hugo Lloris (a criminally cheap €8.5 million to Lyon)

•Florent Balmont (€2.3 million to Lille)

•Lilian Laslandes: His contract hasn’t been renewed and, though nothing’s for sure, he’s not at training and probably won’t be around this season.

And, to make matters worse, it’s looking more and more likely that Baky Kone will be sold off for peanuts to Marseille. They’re offering €8 million and, after starting the summer demanding €15 million, Nice’s most recent asking price is €12 million €10 million, and it seems inevitable that it’ll keep going down until Marseille say yes. He’s training with the team now and is his usual pocket-sized, speedy self, which is only going to make it hurt more if when he leaves.

There have, however, been a few arrivals to keep us from chucking it all in before the season even starts.

•Loïc Rémy (striker; €8 million from Lyon): Yes, it was basically a straight swap — a brilliant young keeper with two years of first-team experience under his belt for a promising kid who’s displayed flashes of brilliance but no consistency at the top level. Super. Yes, I’m a little concerned. And, yes, I would love to be shown — preferably by an injury-free season and a flood of goals — that being concerned is stupid.

•Emerse Faé (mid; on loan from Reading with the option to buy for about €3 million): Says he’s “100% Nice” and wants to make the move permanent. Will arrive at training on Monday.

•Chaouki Ben Saada (striker/attacking mid; €1.5 million from Basita): Is somehow barely 24 after a lifetime at Basita. Signed a three-year deal and was presented to the press today.

•Kafoumba Coulibaly (defensive mid): Came to Nice from Basita with Ben Saada, only he was on a free; signed for four years and had his presentation today with Ben Saada. I hope all this togetherness doesn’t give him a complex.

In addition, there’s a whole slew of rumors about other interests, which will surely only get more intense when Baky leaves. For now, though, the only person whose arrival seems imminent is David Ospina, a young Colombian keeper who won his first national cap at 17 — and by that point he’d already won the league with Atletico Nacional. The price is thought to be about €2.5 million, and if/when he shows up, the idea is that he’d take over the gloves from the ever-willing Letizi whenever he’s ready. Give the kid’s level of experience and evident quality, this could potentially be the most exciting transfer of the season for Nice — assuming nothing goes wrong with the deal and he actually turns up.

As usual, the in/out lists are depressing — talent going out, hope and Ligue 2 bodies coming in — but they’re also nothing new. And who knows? After the departures last summer (especially Vahirua), everyone figured Nice would be battling relegation, but they ended up spending much of the season fighting for a place in Europe. Plus, Antonetti, Echouafni, and Rool are still there, and I’m firmly convinced that, between them, those three can do anything. Well, anything that doesn’t require running fast.