Eleven years after leaving OGC Nice, Nicolas Dyon returned to the club at the start of 2020. Fitness coach in the Antonetti era (2005-2009), he's now part of Adrian Ursea's coaching staff. Experienced (43 years old), having also worked at Saint-Etienne, Rennes, Lugano and Grasshoppers Zurich, he wasted no time in getting down to work. With one constraint - "time" - and a very precise action plan.

Nicolas, you took on the role on December 4: what were your first tasks?

To start with I had to get to know the players. I know a lot of the coaching staff and 70% of the medical staff, and that allowed us to gain some time. I was soon able to get a handle on the context, analyse the situation, take on board the information, such as the various injuries sustained by players, their origins, their history. To sum up, there needed to be a complete audit. As for the rest, there was a bit of frustration, as apart from when it came to a few details, I wasn't able to do in-depth work as we played every 3 days.

What are the details you have changed?

Rules on a daily basis. On the 1st day, I first of all said to the players that I would never speak badly of the past. In football there are as many methods as there are coaching staffs. Having underlined that, the way I go about preparing players is diametrically opposed to what was happening here before I came back. Not because I hold the keys to the truth, but because we have a different culture and I have French methods. After that, in our job, you have to be very humble and never say: "What I do works". The fitness preparation might work one season with one squad but not the season after. Since I arrived, I have tried to make the players understand what they're doing. They need to understand why they're doing exercises, what the point of them is. In order for my message to get through, it needs to be clear for everybody. The relationship with the players is vital, as is being demanding. They are the two keys to our work. Another thing that we're working on a lot with the medical staff: we need to reduce injuries. That's indispensable. A club is built on the health of its players. Seeing them in the stands is dramatic. We have to have fewer injuries and that's our responsibility.

Has your method changed as the years have passed?

I do a lot more exercises designed to prevent injuries than at the start of my career. The more things progress, the more the methods develop, and that's normal. In 2002 there was no GPS. I also created the RPE module on the My Coach Pro platform in order to collect lots of information on the state of the players. When I wasn't at a club, I travelled a lot in order to discover other sports and other cultures. In Zurich, for example, I was inspired by the Germans. Overall, for the same overall workload, they do more work at high intensity. Beyond that, even if I have observed what they do elsewhere, I don't think we need to change French savoir-faire. In this country, we work well, even if at the end of the day it's about results. We can talk all we want, all the time, and at the end of it all the only thing that matters and validates your work are results.

How did your return to the club come about?

Since coming back from Rennes in 2013, I've been based in Cagnes-sur-mer with my family. When I worked in Switzerland, I used to come home at weekends. I've been at home since March because of the Covid crisis. I made a commitment to my family to have a break from football to stay with them, with the idea of studying new professional opportunities from January 2021. And then I met the directors of OGC Nice… I knew a lot of people at the club, but I didn't know them yet. We spoke straight away about performance in football and it all happened naturally. There was nothing planned.

Is the Gym of today different to the one you knew before?

Yes and no. Yes because it's me returning home and the house has changed (smiles). The club has really professionalised, notably in terms of the infrastructure and less so because of the people. I came across a lot of familiar faces here and so the family feel to the club is still there.

What memories do you have of your Nice years?

It was a great experience (from 2005 to 2009. The Ray stadium, the squad, the Coupe de la Ligue final, the seasons we finished in the top 8. I had a great time. When I followed Fred Antonetti to Rennes, I was happy but it did cause my heart to tighten.

Did you speak to coach Antonetti before coming back to the club?

Of course! Our paths went their separate ways after Rennes because he needed a break, whereas I needed to keep working, but we are still in contact. Fred is like a second father to me, I owe him everything in football. You don't have many encounters like that, like that with Jean-Marie De Zerbi (Antonetti's assistant) as well.

The profile of the Nice players isn't exactly the same as you knew at the time…

That's for sure! I was very surprised when I came back to the club as in 17 years in L1, I had never seen such a young squad. On top of that, Dante and Lees-Melou were injured. Having a young squad is not something I mind. The players listen and work, and it's down to us to adapt our management and way of teaching them things. The squad must know that I am there to accompany them and guide them. To conclude, I would like to thank everybody at the club, because I've been welcomed really well by everybody, from those on the administrative side to the players and the coaching staff.

C.D.

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