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?

•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.

•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.

ADDED Sunday: Stream here.

Gardiens: Letizi, Ospina
Défenseurs: Cid, Diakité, Gace, Kanté, Jeunechamp, Yahia
Milieux: Coulibaly, Echouafni, Faé, Hellebuyck, Traoré
Attaquants: Bamogo, Modeste, Ozokwo, Rémy

Absents: Ben Saada, Hognon, Rool (blessés), Apam (sélection), Mouloungui (deuil familial), Asamoah, Barul, Job, Moreau, Moussilou (choix de l’entraîneur)

Apparently Hognon’s leg is bad enough to rule him out even before a late fitness test, which means the defense is now without two regulars and its most reliable replacement. Man alive — Letizi better have one of his supremely competent days.

So, the team is likely to look the the way it did at Le Havre, except with Yahia (presumably preferred over Cid, based on Antonetti’s use of him when Hognon went down against Nancy) in place of Hognon:

Letizi
Diakité-Yahia-Kanté-Jeunechamp
Echouafni
Fae-Hellebuyck
Bamogo-Traore
Remy

It’s also thought that Coulibaly, whose training sessions with the team you can count on one hand, will probably play a part in the midfield, presumably coming off the bench.

Given Auxerre’s 0-4 thrashing at Marseille last week (a scoreline that is possibly even more galling because it evidently didn’t justly reflect how the visitors played) and Nice’s perpetual struggles on the road, I’ve got a bad feeling about this one, particularly in light of the hobbled defense Antonetti’s being forced to use. That said, Auxerre just sent Romanian CB Gabriel Tamas out on loan for the rest of the season and are without Jeremy Berthod through injury, so their defense might be a bit out of sorts, too. If Nice can just get through this weekend with a point, things will start to get better at the back — an exhausted Apam will be home by the time training starts next week, and Cyril #1 and Hognon could return to face Valenciennes.

* * *

In quick, non-preview news:

•Apam played every minute of every match for Nigeria at the Olympics, playing at the heart of a defense that gave up only four goals over six matches, and is coming back to Nice with a silver medal. Congratulations to him, it’s an amazing accomplishment.

•For you French-speakers, there’s a short Rémy video piece at L’Equipe, featuring his impossibly long legs and an interview segment.

•Laslandes to OM? God, they’re taking him, too?! (Not that Nice have shown any interesting in him since telling him to be patient, but still. It’s the principle of the thing!)

•According to the Israel media, the latest name on Nice’s lips in the continuing quest for an attacker is that of Genk’s Israeli international Elianiv Barda, whose price is apparently around €4 million. Now, if this was from a Romanian sports paper, I’d feel comfortable declaring the story entirely made up, but I don’t know a thing about the reliability of the Israeli sports press and can’t give an opinion either way. Anyone?

Of course, he is too expensive, and won’t be back from injury for several months yet, so having him taken off the table for now is not as disappointing as it would have been were he in a position to play immediately. The fact is, though, that another striker remains really, really important. Or, if you prefer something more moderate, the arrival of one would make everyone feel a lot better about the months ahead — Rémy is great, yeah, but as many (including BordeauxJennifer in the comments here) have pointed out, he’s not made of titanium. What if he gets hurt? Is Modeste going to carry the weight himself? Bamogo?

In good, non-striker news, Nigeria crushed Belgium today in the first Olympic semifinal, so come Saturday, when his Nice teammates are traveling to Auxerre, Apam will be busy trying to stop Kun Agero, Lionel Messi and friends in the gold medal match. Fantastic stuff, that.

Sorry for the semi-absence this week, I’ve been traveling and have only now settled in once place (for a while), so there sadly won’t be a proper preview for the Le Havre match. Instead, I can offer you some links, will that do? What if I pledge real previews in the future? Excellent.

•Both Coulibaly and Apam started and played all 90 minutes in their Olympic matches yesterday. Ivory Coast ran Argentina raged but lost 2-1 on a late goal, while Nigeria drew 0-0 with the Dutch.

•Fooball365.fr released a preseason poll of football journalists today, all of whom were asked to pick the top three and bottom three, and explain their choices. Three of them picked Nice to go down for obvious, ZOMG SO MANY PEOPLE ARE GONE! reasons. Hopefully we’ll look back on this and laugh.

•Official numbers — no one’s taken over Baky’s shirt, but Traore’s been assigned Ederson’s #10, Fae’s got Balmont’s #14, Ospina’s got the #1 shirt, and poor, unloved Matt Moussilou will get nothing and like it!

•A recent official site interview with Letizi, who praises Ospina and tries to temper his habitual positivity with a bit of caution about the season ahead. Good man.

•Totally unsurprising squad list for tomorrow. I’ve read that Hognan definitely will not play, but since he’s on the team sheet it looks like there’s at least a little optimism he could be fit by game time. Fingers crossed, everyone.

•New Antonetti interview, in which he cautions against taking preseason results to heart, laments the financial situation that makes that elusive New Attacker difficult to land, and shows some love for his 4-3-3.

•On the topic of the new attacker, Nice are still after Dindane, apparently, and talks are either underway with Lens or they’ve broken down after Nice’s offer was rejected. As usual, the truth is anyone’s guess, but at the very least it sounds like they’re still trying to find someone. Even someone with only one good leg.

If anyone somehow manages to watch the match tomorrow, please share your impressions in the comments. Assuming God doesn’t come down in person (in deity) and demand a stream, I won’t see it beyond highlights until the official site gets it uploaded (which usually takes a couple days), so the full match report won’t come until then.

Could someone please explain what’s going on with Cedric Kanté? Last week, he was complaining about how the club weren’t interested in extending his contract beyond its current 2009 end because of all the central defenders in the team. Now, though, it turns out they’ve offered him a two-year extension, and he turned it down. He also refused to go to to ASSE earlier this summer (allegedly) because he wasn’t their first choice (he is not a “fallback solution”), hints at interest in him from PSG, and then hastens to add that he is not unhappy at Nice. Well, hell, I should hope not — I think he played more matches than anyone in the team last season, so it’s hard to understand where all this is coming from. Anyone? Is it just that he wants to make more money, and knows he’d have to move to do that? Or is he an egomaniac who wants the armband and a statue outside the new ground? I’ve love to hear what everyone thinks and/or knows, cos I’m almost entirely ignorant about his history.

Away from Kanté, there’s been a lot of talk about Rémy in the press lately, since he played at Lyon and is about to start his first season EVAR as a first-team regular. In interviews, he comes across as very focused and entirely realistic about the amount of pressure he’s under, and how high the expectations for him are in Nice; it’s nice (haha) to see a young player willingly taking on challenges rather than laughing and pretending they’re not there. And he’s a realist in other ways, too — among the reason he came to Nice were a)the weather, and b)the fact that, out of all his suitors, Nice “responded most to [his] demands.” Gotta love the honesty, right?

Also:

•The team trained at the Ray in front of supporters yesterday. There are pictures, and the official site insists that Yahia scored twice on bicycle kicks, but I’m not sure I believe it.

•Latest rumored transfer target: Bobô (the Brazilian at Besiktas, not the Italian one at Atlanta, or the guy who plays at Celtic) — Foot Mercato claim Nice are interested but haven’t made an offer.

The team were officially presented to supporters today in a grand ceremony (by which I mean there were men in suits while the team wore tshirts and flip-flops), complete with a big, pretty banner and the promise from Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi of a new, 40,000-seat stadium in three years. Well, thank goodness that’s sorted, right?

The stadium thing has become a major talking point for people at the club lately, a fact that, were this Milan, I’d assume had been dictated by the Mighty Media Machine to get the issue into the media as a new administration settles in. Since it’s Nice, however, it might simply be because they’ve recently been rejected by more than one player for that reason, and want it sorted — Cohen talked about it the other day, and Antonetti echoed his concerns in an interview yesterday, saying that potential singings had actually back out of agreements because of the stadium. (That, in turn, makes me wonder whether they’re not backing out for other reasons — salary, for example — and just citing the Stadium Situation as the reason because they know it’s a big deal to the club, and therefore will be accepted. Sorting that out would require either mind reading or way better sources than I’ve got, though, so I’ll have to just take it all at face value.)

In encouraging news, at today’s event Antonetti confirmed to a reliable source in the Nice forums that Eric Mouloungui will not be the last signing of the summer. In fact, the club are currently in talks with an unnamed striker (probably Dindane), one who hopefully won’t bail once he starts thinking about the size and condition of the ground — cross your fingers.

Also: A couple season previews for your perusal.

First half:

Letizi
Diakité-Yahia-Kanté-Jeunechamp
Echouafni-Fae-Traoré
Remy-Modeste-Bamogo

Second half:

Ospina
Diakité-Hognon-Cid-Rool
Echouafni (Adu, 82rd)-Fae-Traoré
Bamogo (Quansah, 76th)-Remy-Ben Saada

Goals: Remy (45th pen, 62nd), Bamogo (71st pen) for Nice; Ilan (9th), Gigliotti (19th, 56th pen) for ASSE

(No Hellebuyck because of a slight leg problem; nothing serious but Antonetti didn’t want to risk him.)

It’s too bad there’s so little to be found about this match, because it sounds completely insane. Three penalties, a wet pitch, a horrible error by Letizi — who wouldn’t want to have seen that?

The match reports, such as there are, confirm that ASSE were by far the better team in the first half, helped considerably by a lot of individual errors by Nice, particularly in the defense, and an apparent lack of confidence from the entire team. Fantastic. That said, Nice improved in the second half and, while it’s frustrating to have been outplayed two matches in a row, the fact that they battled back (from 0-2 and 1-3) to tie it is definitely a good sign, and something to which desperate, striker-craving supporters can cling.

Also encouraging were two more goals from Remy, one from the penalty spot and the other from 35 yards when he caught the ASSE keeper off his line and lobbed him spectacularly. If this kid can be half as productive once the season starts as he is right now, he’ll go a long way toward justifying the price the club paid for him. Speaking of promising new arrivals, it’s interesting to see Ben Saada playing up top again — he was used only in the midfield against Grenoble, but seems to have really shone as part of an attacking trident yesterday.

Additionally, Ospina continues to impress: The only goal he gave up was on a PK, and Letizi’s recent struggles are only increasing calls for the Colombian to start the season as first choice. That seems unlikely, but it’s still awfully reassuring to have a young, skilled keeper ready to step in when called upon.

Finally, it’s nice to see Quansah making another appearance after not figuring against Grenoble. He and the other Ghanian trialist (Adu) just got a few minutes each, but at least they’re still around — the three youth players who were with the team at the start of camp have vanished from the friendly lineups.

Other news: Carlos Tenorio is right out, but Eric Mouloungui is reportedly set to arrive from Strasbourg within the next few days. More on him when it’s official, but assuming it is: One striker down, one to go. Also, in their down time at Albertville, the team took in a women’s handball match. Very nice.

First Half:

Letizi
Diakité-Hognon-Kanté-Jeunechamp
Echouafni-Fae-Helebuyck
Rémy-Modeste-Bamogo

Second half:

Ospina
Jeunechamp-Yahia-Cid-Rool
Fae-Hellebuyck-Traoré-Ben Saada
Modeste-Rémy

Goals: Modeste (22nd), Rémy (44nd) Nice; Flachez (45è) for Grenoble; video of the goals (in the old kits, still) here.

As usual, it’s hard to find out much about the match — it sounds like Grenoble had arguably the better of play after the first 10 minutes or so, but despite their possession, they failed to trouble the Nice goal at all. [Hilariously, the solution to their goal-scoring problem seems to be taking Matt Moussilou on loan. It would be sad to see him go because it's nice to have such an easy punchline sitting around, but I understand that his wanderlust and need to be unproductive in as many places as possible is calling him. Godspeed, Matt.] Things were a bit more ragged in the second half after all the substitutions, but Rémy apparently forced a couple saves out of the keeper — he went the full 90 minutes and reportedly looked great, which is both encouraging on the goal-scoring front, and also a reassuring indication that the shoulder knock he picked up against Nimes is no longer a concern.

And, if you watch the goals, there’s bits of good stuff there — Rémy and Modeste, in the glimpses we see, really do seem to be playing well together, and is that Bamogo over on the right, cutting inside before the second goal? That’s a nice bit of skill! And maybe there’s more of that sort of things in the 88 minutes we didn’t get to see! (Hey, I’m trying to be optimistic based on like two minutes of footage — cut me some slack, huh?) Nice still need a striker, but seeing the current crop working together productively is definitely reassuring. Also, there’s a great, exasperated arm-flap from Rool after the Grenoble goal goes in off of him, but I realize that’s not necessarily a reason to be optimistic about the season. Presumably Cyril #1 was with the second group because he missed some training this week — his grandfather died, and he left the team to spend time with his family.

After all the excitement over Quansah in that Nimes match, it’s weird that he didn’t even make an appearance. Of course, I don’t know if he even traveled with the team to Albertville, those sort of details are so hard to get out of Nice. Anyone who knows anything, please share.

In other news, Apam and Coulibaly are both officially gone now, not to return until after Nigeria and Ivory Coast are knocked out of the Olympics. Defensively, this is very scary, because even though Cid has shaved off his absurd facial hair, he and Cyril #2 don’t inspire that much confidence. That said, there’s no point in complaining about it — the team got through the African Cup of Nations without Apam, they’ll make it through the first few weeks of this season without him, too. Probably.

And, finally, in a pleasingly Big Club move, Nice have officially denied any interest in Rennes’ Mickaël Pagis, which is a pity because he’s ancient — just the right age for Nice — and has the added bonus of a proven goal-scoring record. Instead, the club are still in the mass of teams chasing Tenorio and Piquionne.