Complete joy at the final whistle. The love story between the Gym (OGC Nice) and the 2006 League Cup continues. All the people of Nice are invited to the wedding, which will take place on April 22 in the cathedral of football: the Stade de France.
It all started on October 22. As if nothing had happened. A glance. Some budding feelings. It was at the Stade du Ray in the presence of eleven players from Châteauroux. The air is fresh but it doesn’t matter. An ordinary evening. An ordinary setting. We hardly remember it. But the first encounter lingers, as it always does when a spark is seen in the eyes of the one we cherish. We wonder. Will it last? Should we hope again only to be disappointed? That night, Mamadou Bagayoko was the one with the spark. It was late. 95 minutes after the first contact. But the two lovers promised to meet again. Two months later. The same place. Where they feel good, confident… A color: the green of the Sedan players. The color of hope as a symbol. The second meeting in a story is the most important. The concern is greater. The tension too. And it’s especially that night that we know if we love and if we want to fight to keep this love. That night, Cyril Rool and Marama Vahirua, with two kisses, two strikes, proved the love they had for this cup. Against Bordeaux, the first difficulties arose, the first fierce battles – it could have ended with just a scratch from Darcheville or Smicer, and the break could have been definitive. But it was not. Florent Balmont stole a passionate kiss from Lady Cup, and she fell for him, for the Red and Black club. And then there was that Tuesday, February 7th…
Big night. Night of the grand declaration. I love you a little, a lot, passionately, madly. Madness was in the stands. With all these balloons, scarves, and flags, a large choir with mostly choirboy-like audience, how could Miss Cup say no?
She said yes. She accepted the red and black engagement ring. There are two months left to prepare the wedding ceremony. The caterer proposed either Lorraine quiche or rillettes from Le Mans on the menu. But what’s certain is that we’d like another serving of this cup. In the meantime, let’s toast to the health of the Gym!
*Reactions:*
“Frédéric Antonetti is Nice’s best recruit. He continues to develop the players,” says Maurice Cohen, president of OGC Nice, praising his coach and the perfect union with him: “I thank the club which has never worried me despite a difficult start to the season,” declares Frédéric Antonetti. A coach very happy to bring his eaglets to the final: “I have never been to the Stade de France even as a spectator. I promised myself I’d only go with a club that I coached.”
The match, as expected, was indecisive. Neither team truly dominated. A very tactical game. David Bellion explains the tactics of Nice: “Either we went crazy putting physical impact in each duel or we blocked them tactically by waiting. With the first solution, Monaco would have managed to counter us. It’s a team that plays very well and stays well organized with a Camel Meriem who manages to be everywhere…”
At the 88th minute, Sébastien Roudet crosses to Ederson who heads the ball into the nets of Warmuz. This is what you call a winning coaching move, as both players had replaced, just before, Marama Vahirua and Mamadou Bagayoko. Very humble, Frédéric Antonetti explains his choices: “It was luck. Mamadou and Marama only had 60 minutes in them, just like Bill Tchato actually. Their substitutions were planned. We also got lucky with Christian Vieri’s shot hitting the crossbar and our goalkeeper making crucial saves.”