OGC Nice is delighted to announce that Florian Maurice and Franck Haise have joined the club as its new first-team sporting director and manager respectively.

“It’s satisfying to have laid the foundations for the future in such a short space of time,” explained OGC Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivère. “The total alignment of the club’s senior executives, each in their own role, the commitment of [CEO] Fabrice [Bocquet] and the fluidity with which each team has operated has helped us to achieve our primary aim in this transfer window: to bring in a competent sporting director and manager, with great attributes as professionals and as people, who are ready to work together to bring success to the club.”

“We’re choosing reliability, expertise and a long-term vision”

After laying down the general framework, the OGC Nice president gave an insight into these two arrivals, starting with Florian Maurice, “with whom the discussions were immediately positive”. “He holds solid experience in both French and European football. With him, we’re choosing reliability, expertise and a long-term vision.”

“I’d like to thank the president and Fabrice Bocquet for their trust,” acknowledged Nice’s new sporting director. “It was crucial, both for the board and for me, to get things done at the right time, which we’ve managed to do. This is an ambitious club with lofty aims. The team has just finished fifth, and we’ll be playing in the Europa League next season. So, it’s our job to work with determination and humility to help OGC Nice to keep improving.”

“Franck was our number-one choice”

Maurice continued by discussing the appointment of Franck Haise to the role of OGC Nice manager: “Franck is a renowned coach with a lot of expertise and a holistic view that he has gained from his countless experiences. We think that he’s the ideal person to keep the club’s project going and to take us to the next level.”

“Meeting Franck Haise and his wife won us over, as did his determination and his desire to be a long-term part of our club. Franck was our number-one choice, and we’re very happy that he’s joined,” Rivère concluded.

At 53 years old, Haise comes in from RC Lens, whose first team he managed for more than four seasons, taking it from Ligue 2 to the Champions League. On top of being named as Ligue 1’s manager of the 2022–23 season, in which the northern outfit finished second in the league, Haise has distinguished himself with every passing season by stamping a strong, attacking identity onto his equally competitive and entertaining sides, “which was a factor in our choice”, Rivère explained. “I’m very proud to be joining OGC Nice, a historic club that I’ve often come up against,” the coach declared. “The project convinced me, as did the discussions that I had with Le Gym’s board. We quickly reached an agreement because we wanted to get down to work as soon as possible. Our aims are lofty, so it’s up to us to give ourselves the best possible chance of achieving them.”

At Le Gym, where he will be reunited with performance director Laurent Bessière and fitness coach Ghislain Dubois after working with them at Lens, Haise will also be accompanied by assistant managers Lilian Nalis, Johann Ramaré and Alexandre Pasquini.