At the Allianz Riviera,
A complicated first period with Versailles on the offensive and finally the explosion of happiness. Faced with the valiant little Thumb from Ile-de-France (N2) and thanks to an excellent Amine Gouiri, scorer (48th) then decisive passer (73rd), OGC Nice (L1) qualified Tuesday evening (2-0) for the final of the French Cup.
With the hope of being able to lift this trophy again, which has eluded the Aiglons for twenty-five years and their coronation in 1997. And also the possibility, for coach Christophe Galtier, of achieving an incredible hat-trick, after winning the championship with Lille last season and the League Cup with Saint-Etienne in 2013.
“It would be something extraordinary”
“As a team manager, obviously it’s a trophy that I would like to lift and which would go very well with the two that I was able to win,” the coach said at a press conference on Tuesday evening, explaining that he had just raised this possibility with “a person who [lui] is very expensive”.
Already winner of two French Cups as an assistant, under the direction of Alain Perrin, with Sochaux against Marseille, and with Lyon against PSG, Christophe Galtier could mark the history of French football by also hanging this competition at his track record as head coach. “It would be something extraordinary, he breathed. We are still far from it. It will be in eight weeks. But it will stick with me. »
The final in two months, but before that the championship
On May 8 at the Stade de France, it would first be necessary to overcome the winner of the other semi-final played this Wednesday evening between Nantes and Monaco. With a prediction on the name of this opponent? “I think it will be a very tight match, analyzes the Nice coach. Nantes is having a very good championship. They beat Paris in an incredible way. They are full of confidence and have the advantage of receiving. But opposite, they also have a team that is used to major events. »
But even if he “can’t wait to see [le] Stadium [Saint-Denis] with a lot of red and black”, Christophe Galtier called on his players, from Tuesday evening, to remobilize and “recover to play a great match against Paris” on Saturday. Because the Gym will continue to run on both counts, the Coupe de France and the championship, where Nice, on the podium, flirts with Olympique de Marseille (ahead by one point).
The Champions League still in sight and with one certainty, dropped by Amine Gouri on the Eurosport antenna: Christophe Galtier “hates defeat”.