Two days before the resumption of Ligue 1, OGC Nice presented his five recruits this Friday. Romanian winger Rares Ilie, Italian defender Mattia Viti, French midfielder Alexis Beka Beka, Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel took turns facing the press. Here’s what to remember.
Rare Ilia
“It was my father who handled the negotiations. I found a great group here. Everyone was very nice to me. I could already see that the city is very beautiful. I didn’t know many the club. I knew Dante. I want to give my best. I have a personal goal but I want to think about the team first. I can play both left and centre.”
Lucian Favré: “In Bucharest he played in a 4-4-2 on the left almost like a winger. He can also play on the left in a 4-3-3 or in a more central position in a 4-2-3-1. As I I had a lot of time to watch players. I discovered him and it’s true that he has something. Every time I’ve seen him he’s always been very interesting.”
Mattia Viti
“I would have been crazy to say no to Nice. It’s an ambitious club. The coach has trained great teams and I’m very happy to have signed here. I discovered Serie A last season and I don’t don’t think I’ll have any difficulty adapting to Ligue 1. I don’t speak French yet but I’m going to learn the language. As for Dante’s competition, it doesn’t scare me. He’s a player who has won everything and I I can only progress by his side, especially since I’m lucky that he speaks Italian. My game? I don’t like to talk about myself too much but I think I’m good at anticipating. But I have a lot to learn . I remember Mario Balotelli. A very great player who had a very great stint at OGC Nice.”
Lucian Favré: “He is very receptive and he still needs to improve in a lot of areas. But he will learn.”
Beka Beka
“I had contact with OGC Nice in the past but it didn’t happen. Last year I didn’t have the opportunity to talk to the coach. There things were done differently so that I would be more confident. I was able to get to know the coach and talk about football. He told me that he intended to use me in midfield. I told him that I prefer to play as number 6 but I can help out. I was conquered by the project. I seized a great opportunity. In Russia I needed to live a great experience to grow. I have changed a lot and I am proud to arrive here to continue to grow. In a group you have to have several profiles and the arrival of Aaron Ramsey should allow us to progress.”
Lucian Favré: “At his age he should be able to evolve in several positions. In 6 or 8 we will see. But he has great potential like Ilie and Viti. When I said that we wanted to finish on the podium within two years, it’s with the idea of developing young players.”
Aaron Ramsey
“I am very happy to be here and to be part of the project. I am very excited to arrive in this young and talented team. I feel very good. I trained well this week and discovered a staff fantastic. My experience at Juventus Turin took me out of my comfort zone. I had been at Arsenal for a long time. Today I have a new opportunity and I can’t wait to start this adventure. The World Cup is obviously very important but first I want to think about the start of the season and help the team get off to a good start.”
Lucian Favré: “Next week Aaron will be able to meet Arsène Wenger who is due to come here. They know each other well. He is a player who can adapt to several positions. He smells of football. He is always optimistic and that is very positive too. I hope his injuries are behind him.”
Kasper Schmeichel
“It was time for a new challenge. It was a difficult decision but I had to make it. I love Leicester but I wanted to try something different. It’s a new experience for my family and it will allow me to learn a new language. And above all, I’m joining a very ambitious club. It just looks like Leicester when I arrived there, a club that wants to become big and do big things. I’m not a headliner. My role is to bring stability to the team. I was able to chat with Nampalys Mendy or Ricardo Pereira and they told me very nice things about the club. I also spoke with Kasper Dolberg to “We follow Danish players who play abroad a lot in Denmark. He has great qualities and I can tell you that Nice has a great player in Dolberg.”
Lucian Favré: “I think all goalkeepers have to be good on foot or we have a problem! This is the case with Kasper. He has a great career, he comes from a great experience with Leicester. We are there! For Dolberg he doesn’t train with us yet so we’ll see if we can count on him. Probably the arrival of Schmeichel can help him.”