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.

* * *

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.

•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.

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.).

•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.

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.

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.

* * *

I also don’t think anyone actually believes Nice will stay this close to the top of the table for long, but it’s fair to say that, in the last seven matches — starting with Bordeaux and including Créteil — the team have really shown us something. Apart from periodic, inspired stretches, the football isn’t petty, but they’re smart, they’re hard to play against, and they believe in themselves. Those three things, even without Rémy, and without the still-missing killer instinct, have made Nice a force to be reckoned with and, most importantly, a team that can tough out wins, even when they’re not playing well. If they can keep their wits about them moving forward (and adjust successfully when Rémy comes back), they’re going to make this interesting.

And, finally, while digging through ASSE forums yesterday, in amidst the “OMG NICE PLAY ANTIFOOTBALL!11!!!” rants and debates on whether they should moon over how much they want Antontetti back or just move on, I found this post, which I thought was a pretty perceptive summary of where Nice stand and how they play (forgive the Google translate garbling, I think you can still get the gist):

Nice still lost 4 best players in the offseason (Balmont, Kone, Lloris, Ederson) does not have a staff of Cador championship (an attack Mouloungui-Bamogo-Modeste, we saw more impressive) and was moving last night without his main striker (Remy). One can therefore understand that this team has not proposed football-champagne, outside what is more, and also in a relegation (kind of wounded beast that must be wary because it is always susceptible to rebel) .

Nice done with its resources and for now that they succeeded fairly well. They seek to maintain them as soon as possible and once the first goal achieved, they will seek the highest possible. They are not flamboyant in the game (how many teams are in France?), They know very well that they will be very difficult to maintain their current pace of 38 days but offset by a state of mind of combatants and not drop anything. And the points made are no longer taken.

Finally, Antonetti yells perhaps on the edge of the button, but he is at the root of this desire that we see on the ground and that made her a commando team on which many training just break your teeth (when they appear above Nice on paper). If Etienne had half the commitment and willingness shown by the people of Nice on the first 15 games, it would not be the 20th this morning.

(I’m generally a pretty cynical, irritable football fan, but having Nice described that way by an opposing supporter made me feel almost embarrassingly proud.)

For the first time since Frédéric Antonetti was a svelt 20-year-old, he’s got a full squad to choose from: No suspension, no injuries, no personal crises, no nothing. Everyone is fit and ready to go — what luxury!

Gardiens: Letizi, Ospina
Défenseurs: Apam, Cid, Diakité, Hognon, Kanté, Rool
Milieux: Coulibaly, Echouafni, Faé, Hellebuyck, Jeunechamp, Traoré
Attaquants: Bamogo, Ben Saada, Modeste, Mouloungui, Rémy

Absents: Adu, Barul, Gace, Moreau, Moussilou, Ozokwo, Quansah (choix de l’entraîneur)

One assumes we’ll see Rémy from the start in place of Modeste, but apart from that change, the rest of the team could well be as it was against Nantes. Unless, that is, Antonetti wants to go crazy and play Ben Saada in behind a front two of Mouloungui and Rémy. (Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m not in charge.) It’s also possible that Apam could be rested — he played all 90 minutes against Colombia at midweek, and just arrived back in Nice yesterday.

For their part, ASSE are having huge injury problems in their defense, so much so that they’ve got only three first-team players fit, and could well start someone from the youth squad in the back. And, injury problems notwithstanding, Saint-Etienne are seriously struggling — they’ve lost six in a row, and have given up 16 goals against only two scored during those matches. It’s been a truly horrific run, but they’re at home, playing under a new coach there for the first time, and will doubtless be desperate to turn things around in front of their supporters.

In other words, it’s just the sort of match that can spell doom for high-flying opponents who come in feeling a little too good about themselves. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m nervous as hell.

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.

Buts: Bamogo (20è), Mouloungui (80è) pour Nice ; N’Daw (8è) pour Nantes

Nice: Letizi – Diakité (Jeunechamp 83è), Apam, Kanté, Rool – Echouafni (c), Faé, Hellebuyck – Bamogo (Coulibaly, 86è), Modeste (Ben Saada, 73è), Mouloungui

Nantes: Alonzo – Pierre, Moullec, Mareval, Gravgaard – N’Daw, Capoue (Keseru, 83è), Da Rocha (c ; Djordjevic, 88è), Faty – Bagayoko, Bekamenga (Dossevi, 78è)

* * *

First and most importantly: This win means seven L1 matches in a row without a loss, four wins in a row in all competitions, and not a single dropped point since Rémy got hurt. Hell, yes.

Though Nice are still struggling to put games away when they have the chance, that was still ten times better than than the Lorient match. The speed of play was quicker, the attack was much more fluid and, for about 15 minutes after Bamogo’s goal, Nice played some really, really good football. And during those 15 minutes, it was obvious why Quansah has been so blown away by the supporters because they were magnificent, and the team were undeniably lifted by them.

Unlike against Lorient, where the defense were the standouts, on Sunday the attackers and the midfielders were the ones who really shone. While the midfield didn’t necessarily stand out as individuals, as a group they made it hard for Nantes to possess the ball in the middle of the park, and also did a nice job of exploiting the space behind their defense by playing long, diagonal balls out to Mouloungui and Bamogo.

I think Bamogo reads this blog and heard me bitching, because he was totally transformed — playing off Modeste, he was dropping deep to pick the ball up and either playing one-touch or, even better, keeping it with his back to goal, and then laying it off before getting forward himself. No more of this “receive the ball and attack the defender, no matter what” stuff. (The vast improvement didn’t stop Antonetti from yelling his name every 30 seconds, of course. That, alone, is making me want to learn French, just so I’ll know what the hell he’s got to tell Habib that’s so important. And it’s always different! The instructions must be very detailed.) Additionally, his goal, though I’m not sure why it stood — Chouf looked to be miles offside when the ball was played, and he was very much involved with the pay — was well-taken. And with his head, no less!

Also impressive up front was Mouloungui who, at times, was very good. He was much freer than he was against Créteil, exchanging with Bamogo and getting into the middle sometimes, rather than just driving over and over again toward the touchline on the left. As for his goal, well, we’ve been over that. There were a lot of questions about Mouloungui’s attitude and toughness before he arrived, but in the past few weeks with Rémy down, I think he’s proved himself beyond a doubt to Nice supporters. Good on ya, Eric.

While his fellow attackers were impressing everyone, meanwhile, poor Anthony Modeste was mostly awful. Apart from a few good moments of digging, when he dropped in to do some dirty work in the midfield, he mostly spent his day demolishing his own confidence by a)squandering chances, b)making awful decisions, and c)giving the ball away. And, sometimes, all three at once. You have to feel bad for the kid — he’s still only 20 years old, and does nothing but work, work, work. He’s just thinking too much right now, so nothing is working, and he’s getting whistled off by his own supporters. (How, Nice fans, does that help things? For god’s sake, he feels shitty enough as it is.) There’s no reason to give up on him yet but, with Rémy apparently coming back this weekend, Mouloungui and Bamogo playing well, and Ben Saada chomping at the bit for space in the team, I don’t know how much of Modeste we’re going to be seeing in the near the future.

At the back, Apam and Kanté both made alarming, careless mistakes, and oldboy Mamadou Bagayoko (who was gracious and hilarious and looking amazing in his postgame interview) was giving them both a surprising amount of trouble. To me it actually looked like a lack of concentration more than anything else — it was as if they got so caught up the team-wide confidence that they drifted mentally and almost paid for it. Luckily, Letizi was sharp, and their teammates were around to clean up the minor messes, but that really needs to stop happening if this whole top-four thing is going to continue.

Additionally, I feel the need to mention that Cyril #1 is playing so well right now that it’s completely ridiculous — I don’t think he’s put a foot wrong in about a month. Also, he and Hellebuyck are playing off one another like they can each others’ minds. Long may it continue. Like, for three or four more years. Please.