Nice continue to impress, and they deserve to be taken seriously as a title contender this season. (Photo: Eurosport Australia)
On Sunday, the biggest game of matchday 17 will take place at the Parc des Princes.
And it is not PSG vs. Marseille, commonly known as Le Classique. Rather, it will be Les Parisiens welcoming Nice. Normally that tie is just one of many that takes place during any Ligue 1 campaign, but this season, things are a bit different.
How much so? Well, for starters, a look at the Ligue 1 table will raise a few eyebrows. Last season, the title race was over in March. On March 13th, PSG crushed Troyes 9-0 to make it a fourth straight title. They would go on to ultimately cruise to first place by a whopping 31 point margin. Fortunately – at least from a neutral perspective – the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign has been a lot less one-sided. PSG haven’t exactly been cruising comfortably, and rivals Monaco have managed to close the gap. Then there’s the current league leaders: Nice. Les Aiglons finished in fourth spot last season and qualified for the Europa League as a result, which certainly isn’t bad.
But certainly, no one expected them to be doing as well as they are this season. Despite being a fairly solid side, Nice have not won any silverware since clinching the Coupe de France in 1997. Their heyday was arguably the 1950’s, when they were crowned champions of France four times during that decade. Yet, here they are, leading the Ligue 1 table and still going strong after 16 rounds.
As we have all seen in football, some teams burst out of the gates, only to crash, burn, and fizzle out midway through the campaign. With that in mind, however, we also saw Leicester City, a team that had barely escaped relegation, pull off arguably the biggest shock an entire generation of sports fans have seen in their lifetimes by winning the Premier League.
So, are they the real deal? Or just a fluke? And can they topple PSG?
Yes, no, and certainly. And here are a few reasons why.
No more European football
Thanks to finishing in fourth, Nice qualified for the Europa League group stages for the first time since the UEFA Cup was renamed the Europa League. (In the 2013/2014 season, they only made it to the play-offs). In a quartet alongside Schalke, Red Bull Salzburg, and Russian outfit Krasnodar, Les Aiglons were expected to at least get out to the round of 32. Unfortunately, despite their impressive form in Ligue 1, they were unable to replicate those same kinds of performances and crashed out after finishing last.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Competing on multiple fronts is an exhausting endeavor. Just look at Leicester’s struggles in the Premier League versus their Champions League campaign. Or how Sassuolo started off well in the Europa League, only to see the wheels fall off and the Neroverdi continue to flounder in Serie A. For Nice, this just gives them more room to focus on domestic affairs. Instead of taking far-flung trips to places like Russia in February (ouch!), Lucien Favre’s troops will generally be playing just once, maybe twice a week.
Leicester had no European commitments and we saw how that paid dividends for the Foxes. It just may do the same for Nice this May.
The return of Mario Balotelli
He’s back. On Tuesday, Mario Balotelli reportedly resumed training after recovering from an apparent calf injury. Balotelli, of course, is no stranger to huge games. He has featured in the Derby della Madonnina (both for AC Milan and Inter), and Manchester Derby whilst with Manchester City. At 26, time is running out for him to re-launch what could have been a promising career. And he appears to be on the right footing. Before being sidelined due to injury, he had netted a solid seven goals in ten appearances across all comps for Nice. His teammates have shouldered on without him, but they – and fans – arguably will be eagerly awaiting his return, which could be potentially this Sunday.
If he can pick up from where he left off, there will be really no reason to continue to exile him from the Azzurri. After all, none of Italy’s strikers really set the pitch alight and one can only wonder how they would have fared against Germany had Balotelli been within their ranks. Especially considering that his brace against die Mannschaft was what got them to the final back in 2012.
Nice’s young and hungry talents
Still, it’s not all about Balotelli, especially considering Nice has players like Alassane Plea within their ranks. Does the name sound familiar? Especially before last season? If not, one is certainly not alone, but he’s quickly establishing him as a young and promising talent. With nine goals, Plea is only second to Edinson Cavani and Alexandre Lacazette in the goal-scorer’s charts. In total, between him and Balotelli, they have contributed to 50 per cent of Nice’s 30 goals this term.
The only side to have scored more is Monaco, who have racked up a whopping 49 in just 16 rounds. That shows that the team aren’t exactly just sitting back and parking the bus to get a 1-0 result or a draw. Of course, winning games is not all about scoring. One needs to prevent the opponent from doing likewise. And Nice’s back-line has been pretty solid as well. Les Aiglons have conceded a measly ten goals so far, which is the best out of any of the 20 teams in Ligue 1 this term. A huge part of that has been the excellent performances of 22-year-old shot-stopper Yoan Cardinale, who has kept eight clean sheets in 15 league appearances, and if he can keep this up, he definitely will be on the wish-list of other “bigger” clubs across Europe sooner or later.
In fact, the bulk of Nice’s squad are 25 years of age or younger. Balotelli, at 26, is actually one of the more “senior” players on the team. One won’t find any 40-year-olds on their roster. No one on their books, in fact, is older than 35. That is particularly promising – just look at Atalanta’s youthful squad making waves in Italy – especially if the team can keep them together for future campaigns.
The absence of expectations
Finally, Lucien Favre, who took over this past May, has plenty of experience in reviving teams down on their luck. The prime example, of course, is Borussia Moenchengladbach. But despite that, not much was expected of him and Nice this term. And it is in this absence of expectations that Nice has been able to quietly fly under the radar and forge ahead. That will certainly play to their advantage, as we saw with Leicester City in the Premier League.
In seasons past, Nice would have been clear underdogs. Not so much this Sunday. Although they’re currently backed at 8/1 to win, whilst hosts PSG are backed at 1/3, nonetheless, one can’t ignore their performances this season. They have lost just once. And they have already beaten a title rival when they thrashed Monaco 4-0. PSG are coming into this match after losing 3-0 to Montpellier and drawing 2-2 with lowly Ludogorets, so indeed anything is possible. Especially for a team that no one even considered would be remotely involved in a title battle this season.
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