“Despite the changes in animation, coach and several players, they are already performing very well.” Franck Haise highlighted the good start to the season for Marseille before going to the Vélodrome. Nice also experienced these upheavals this summer but did not leave the same impression as OM on the first three days. Slowed down by a delayed transfer window and an avalanche of injuries, the new coach of OGC Nice is forced to adapt. His playing principles are being put in place but are only visible in sequences for the moment. Continuity to be found on the field but also on the bench since the Gym has seen seven coaches come and go in less than five years.
Haise has arrived on almost familiar ground
Arriving from Lens with his assistants Lilian Nalis and Johann Ramaré as well as video manager Alexandre Pasquini, Franck Haise found Laurent Bessière and Ghislain Dubois in Nice, previously performance director and physical trainer in Pas-de-Calais. While Florian Maurice took over from Florent Ghisolfi as sporting director, general manager Fabrice Bocquet worked with the Norman technician in Lorient between 2015 and 2017. Close ties are important to help a group move from Francesco Farioli’s playing ideas to those of Franck Haise: “We are clear on that, on the main principles: to have a team that is a protagonist, that seeks to move forward, that has energy and that creates emotions. That is the objective”, he assumed during his presentation.
A disrupted preparation
While summer preparation is generally conducive to establishing one’s principles, it was not easy this summer for the Nice management. The transfer window, linked in particular to the departure of Jean-Clair Todibo, was resolved late while the infirmary quickly filled up. Moffi’s cruciate ligaments, Sanson’s left ankle, Boga’s thigh, Laborde’s foot and now Boudaoui’s knee… The curse has fallen on the Côte d’Azur group. Sporting director Florian Maurice nevertheless sees positive developments: “We want a team that defends by moving forward, seeks very high pressing, counter-pressing. This is obviously a bit of a reversal of what happened last season, so the players have to adapt, but the daily work is going well. The information is clear, precise and the players are perfectly integrated into this plan. For the moment, we have seen some sketches during the match in Angers, but obviously, we aspire to be even more efficient in the weeks to come.”
Council of Elders, Video Sessions… Franck Haise Gets His Messages Across
To instill his instructions, Franck Haise offers numerous video sessions to his men. They can be individual, collective or by line of players. The defenders for example, even when Ndayishimiye was injured, were thus able to observe their areas for improvement collectively. To get his messages across, the Norman also relies on his relays in the group. As in Lens, he has formed a council of wise men in his locker room: Marcin Bulka, Pablo Rosario, Morgan Sanson, Jérémie Boga, Gaëtan Laborde and the inexhaustible Dante. The Brazilian captain is won over by his new coach: “In terms of human management, we don’t need to teach him anything. He has mastered it perfectly. He knows where he wants to go and how to do it. The six of us take our responsibilities and do everything to help him. It involves daily rules of life, discipline, and the requirement to bring the group to the top.”
“We must be more demanding”
With four points collected after three days played against Auxerre, Toulouse and Angers, the trip to Marseille appears to be a first big test for Franck Haise’s version of OGC Nice. He admits without hesitation that his team still needs to make progress: “We can’t afford to neglect improving our collective defensive animation. We opened the scoring in the first three days, but we haven’t won all three games. We need to be more demanding, more focused, more solid, and able to close the game more easily.” This will be necessary to hold up against an OM team that has so far scored more than three goals per game (3.33 / game). This will be done without Canadian defender Moïse Bombito, suspended after his sending off in Angers before the break. Pablo Rosario should compensate for the loss of Hicham Boudaoui in midfield.
- RMC Sport
