OGC Nice

Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Cote d’Azur is a French club who currently compete in Ligue 1. The club is known as OGC Nice and are based in Nice on France’s south-east coast.

History

OGC Nice were founded in 1904 by Marquis de Massingy d’Auzac under the name Gymnaste Club. In 1924, the club changed its name to Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice following a merger in 1919.

French football legend Just Fontaine played for Nice in his early years from 1953 to 1956 and was part of their 1955-56 Ligue 1 title winning side, before moving to Reims. Nice competed in the 1956-57 European Cup and lost in the quarter-finals to Real Madrid.

Nice remained a top-flight club but were unable to contend for titles and were relegated to the second tier twice, before achieving runners-up finishes in both 1972-73 and 1975-76.

Nice went up and down between the top two divisions in the 1980s and 1990s, producing a stunning 1997 Coupe de France triumph, beating Guingamp 5-4 on penalties. Despite that, they were relegated from Ligue 1 only a few days later.

User Rating
6.0 /10

1
Your Rating Rate
close Rate This Team
OGC Nice
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Rate

Country	France
City	Nice
Founded	1904
Ground	Allianz Riviera
Nickname	Les Aiglons
Captain	Dante Bonfim da Costa Santos
Coach	Didier Digard
Website	www.ogcnice.com
Follow This Team

The club’s golden era was during the 1950s, winning four Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France titles during that decade. Nice were back-to-back Ligue 1 winners in 1950-51 and 1951-52, winning the league and cup double in the latter season under Numa Andoire.

In 2016, a Chinese and American consortium led by Chien Lee and Alex Zheng purchased 80% of the club and invested in the playing squad, reviving their aspirations as contenders. Ex-France and Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira was made manager in June 2018 and they finished seventh in his first season in charge. Italy international Mario Balotelli was signed on deadline day in August 2016 too.

Jim Ratcliffe purchased the club for 100 million euros in July 2019, with Christopher Galtier and Lucien Favre leading the club as manager but unable to deliver top-four finishes. Galtier took the club to fifth in 2021-22 before moving to French giants PSG.

Honours