Can a Saudi prince turn Ligue 1 minnows Nice into a French football force?

Andrew Gibney 07:11 05/02/2016
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  • Nice have struggled for consistency in recent years.

    “We have learned to love the club, the town and region,” explained Edward Blackmore, now one of the most powerful men on the French Riviera. “Having seen matches against Bastia, Bordeaux and St-Etienne, we know that the philosophy on the pitch corresponds to what we are looking for.”

    The English businessman, along with the backing of an as yet unnamed Saudi Arabian prince, has purchased 49 percent of Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, a figure that will rise to 80 percent by the end of June 2016.

    Details about his business partner have remained secretive, though French newspaper L’Equipe has asserted that it is not Abdullah bin Musa’ed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who Blackmore worked with in the past to acquire Sheffield United. The new prince does, however, own a second home on the French Riviera.

    Last Friday, Nice president Jean-Pierre Riviere gathered the club’s employees, players included, to explain the goings on at the club. He later told press that there had been contact from other parties, but “none that had given me what I wanted; none had the requirements and shared our vision.”

    Riviere will stay on in his current role, and retain a 20 percent stake in the club – his hope is to ensure that the ‘project’ continues on its current path.

    After their promotion back to Ligue 1 in 2002, Nice spent a decade as a perennial mid-table outfit. Finishing no higher than eighth, they also flirted with relegation on a couple of occasions. Following Frederic Antonetti’s four years in charge, which ended in 2009, Les Aiglons went through a period of instability. In less than three years, three coaches came and went before Claude Puel arrived on the Cote d’Azur in 2012.

    The Mediterranean club flourished in Puel’s first season. Through the goals of Dario Cvitanich they exceeded all expectations, finishing fourth and qualifying for the Europa League. However, the pressure of trying to repeat that success hit hard, and Nice narrowly avoided relegation the following year.

    Under the guidance of Puel – who still remains in the hotseat four years later – the direction of the club has been to promote from within and develop their own players, while also looking to sign players either young or experienced, but only if they fit the right profile.

    Nice is a club with great potential, perfectly symbolised by their brand new Allianz Riviera stadium, which opened in September 2013. Les Aiglons said goodbye to their iconic Stade du Ray after a 2-2 draw with Montpellier in front of just under 15,000 fans.

    Nice factfile

    • Founded - 9 July 1904 as Le Gymnaste Club de Nice
    • Ground - Allianz Riviera
    • Capacity - 35,624
    • Ligue 1 winners - 1951, 1952, 1956, 1959

    Two weeks later, 35,000 were at the inaugural game in their shiny new stadium to see the home side comfortably beat Valenciennes 4-0. However, as is the way in France, fans will lose interest if there is no success. It is a very fickle football culture, and one that Nice were not immune to.

    In their most recent home game, only 13,800 people were in attendance as they beat Lorient 2-1. Puel’s team are currently sitting fourth and in with a chance of recording their highest league finish since they came second in 1976. Yet they still cannot attract more than 20,000 fans on a regular basis.

    The addition of Hatem Ben Arfa in the summer was the perfect signing to add a little stardust. A player of exceptional quality and skill, Ben Arfa has struggled to find a place he could feel loved and wanted.

    It is that signing, plus the continued development of young stars such as Alassane Plea, Vincent Koziello and Nampalys Mendy that will form the base of the club’s development.

    “I saw the team play, Ben Arfa included, it was beautiful,” said Blackmore, a self-confessed Manchester United fan.

    “With my partner, we totally believe in the project already in place,” Blackmore continued. “We will support it so that it can be fulfilled. We are here for the long term. One of our priorities is to see youth flourish. A new first-class training centre is coming soon. That is a key step.”

    Built with its recent investment, Nice will open a new training complex in June 2017 at a cost of around €15 million (Dh60m).  In recent years, players such as Jordan Amavi, Timothee Kolodziejczak and Hugo Lloris all blossomed in the red and black jersey, leaving for a handsome profit. Encouragingly, that is the direction the new owners want to continue, rather than follow in Paris Saint-Germain’s footsteps of spending with abandon.

    “We will not buy players for 10 or 15 million euros. We will keep our best youngsters even if during the transfer window we could have made a lot of money,” Riviere has gone on record as saying.

    There has been a huge exodus of talented players from Ligue 1 recently, and rather than using increased wealth to bring in replacements, it is refreshing to hear that Nice’s first goal is to try and keep their own talent at the club – rather, like with Amavi, see them leave after just one season in the first-team.

    Image via soccerstats.com.

    Image via soccerstats.com.

    Despite the recent low attendances, there is no question that Nice has the potential to become the true powerhouse in the south of France. Monaco have the riches handed to them by Russian owner Dmitry Rybolovlev and his super-agent friend Jorge Mendes but, even at their most successful, Les Rouges et Blancs struggles to convince more than 10,000 fans to attend their games.

    Without being able to increase the club’s incoming revenue, it is hard to push on. Financial Fair Play is set against what the club can generate on its own and without a fan base to build on it will always be a cloud hanging over any venture.

    With the right strategy and project in place, however, Nice could go on to be as successful as Marseille, Lyon or Saint-Etienne have been.

    “We are looking for top-five stability,” Blackmore asserted. “We will help the club in its current foundations and management, speeding up the process.”

    For fans of the Les Aiglons, the most important factor is not to get carried away. The pitfalls of Monaco’s investment are clear to see, not to mention the many examples across Europe where things haven’t gone according to plan.

    “I think the fans will welcome that news with mild enthusiasm,” Nice fan and journalist, Olivier Sclavo, told Sport360. “There is a lot of suspicion within the Niçois when it comes to overseas investors looking at their cherished football club.

    “They will welcome the money and a project that can make OGC Nice bigger, but will be very careful on whether or not this project will take care of the club’s identity and the academy’s past and future successes – something they are very proud of and represents the club’s identity.”

    It is a view shared by Nice-Matin journalist William Humberset.

    “The best term to summarise the situation is mistrust. To not know the Prince’s identity, nor the value of his fortune, is a problem,” Humberset told Sport360.

    Nice have had problems with bad presidents in the past. They were nearly relegated due to financial issues when former AS Roma president Francesco Sensi was in charge – he then left the team in the hands of Roland Cassone, a convicted money launderer who had reported connections with the Mafia.

    “People want to see the club growing, but not at any price.” Humberset said. “The price of the seats at the stadium, the management of the club and the amount of money injects… These are sources of concern for the public.”

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