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Former Aiglon
François Clerc: "I loved playing for the Gym"
From 2010 to 2012, François Clerc played for OGC Nice, with more than 70 games to his name. He was a guest at the match against Reims last Saturday (0-0), and the former Aiglon took the opportunity to take part in our "live match" hosted by Constantin Djivas. It was an opportunity for the former French international (13 caps) to talk about his memories in red and black, to give his opinion on his former team-mate Didier Digard's work, and to express his fondness for OGC Nice.
Before joining our commentator at half-time, François Clerc followed the path reserved for the former Aiglon in the spotlight: an exchange with the fans at the Café des Aiglons and then a standing ovation in the centre circle of the Allianz Riviera just before kick-off. "It was a very enjoyable moment for the former defender, who looked back on his two seasons at Le Gym. The Ray stadium was a different era. We had two seasons that were a little bit "difficult", but I have great memories of them. We had a team of warriors: Ospina, Renato Civelli, Pejcinovic, Didier (Digard), Juju (Sablé), Monzon... The matches at the Ray were incredible. I often talk about it but the first year, with 46 points, we were not safe before the last day. We won the derby against Monaco (3-2 on the 31st matchday), who were down. We also had two semi-finals: one in the Coupe de France against LOSC (0-2 in 2011) who had a great team with Hazard, Gervinho, Sow, Mavuba, Balmont and Rami. The Ray was full, the atmosphere was fantastic. And the second was in Marseille, in the Coupe de la Ligue, it was frustrating (2-1 in 2012)."
"NICE HAS A PROPER TEAM, A TEAM THAT FIGHTS".
"My time at Nice left a big impression on me, I loved being at this club, I'm very happy when I see them do well, I hope they can do even better. We were with my son at the Stade de France last May for the final, it was hard, we were disappointed. But I think there is a bright future", said the man who has two ex-teammates in the OGC Nice pro staff: "I'm happy for Didier, it's good news for him and for the club. It's good, he has revitalised this talented group because there are very good players at Nice. Today we see a real team with players who want to fight for each other, who score goals and who are a team that fights. I'm not surprised and I'm happy for Didier, I knew he had this leadership and that he was capable of leading the young players and doing good things. So far so good, and I hope it lasts.
HIS NEW ROLE
For the past four years, the former OL player has been President of a National 2 club: Andrézieux-Bouthéon FC. "It's been almost 4 years, it's a great experience, not easy, there's a lot of work, but it's fulfilling. As a player, you think about yourself a lot, you think about the game, whereas as a director, you have a much wider view, you have to manage everything. Even if it's only N2, we are between professionalism and amateurism. We have 20 players under contract, and 5-6 people working full time on administration. We hope to have better results by the end of the season. It was better last year, but I hope we will manage to turn things around (Andrézieux are 13th in their group in N2).
I've always liked staying in football, and I've always been interested in a director's role," added the man who has also played for Saint-Etienne, Gazélec Ajaccio and Toulouse. It was a good way to start, to get my foot in the door, in a very well structured club. We're lucky to have a brand new 5000-seat stadium, which is really nice, it allows us to work in real conditions and to learn a bit about the job. It's a great experience.”