Francesco Farioli, officially installed as OGC Nice's new manager, spoke to the press for the first in his new role on Monday afternoon.

Is it a surprise to find yourself here? Had you ever planned to come to France, to a club like Nice?
Coming to coach in France was one of my objectives for the next chapter of my career. I knew that France could be a very good destination, and I've followed a lot of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 football. The standard of players in this country is very high.

The situation with OGC Nice was unexpected; it came up about a month ago. We talked and talked and over the last two weeks, it firmed up a lot. I'm happy to be here and very excited to get started.

What did you know about Nice before you arrived?
I knew about the history, the culture. I know that it's a city very close to Italy and it was a natural progression for me. I knew the beauty of this city and everything that football means here. I've been experiencing all of that since I arrived. The club has a unique method, vision and sporting project, and it's clearly the best project I could have come across. I'm very happy that our paths have crossed.

Can you tell us about the kind of football you like and would like to put in place at Nice? Is there a tactical system that you prefer? It's been said that you advocate attacking football...
Our aim is to be a team that likes to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Our idea is to control the game and have possession of the ball, but above all to be effective and create chances. There has to be interaction between the players on the pitch.

We were able to talk to the players this morning, and they are at the heart of our project. There's already a lot of quality and talent in this squad and our job, for me and my coaching staff, will be to give them the platform that allows them to express their qualities. It will be interesting to see the end result depending on the players we have at our disposal.

Do you already have any ideas about the transfer window? How many players do you need?
We've been working around the clock with the board since I arrived to consider the possibilities. The priority is to maximise the potential already in the squad. There will of course be arrivals and departures. The next ten days will be crucial. We'll be getting the players back and be able to better assess the situation. I've already seen some of them play in matches and I'm very happy to be able to work with them.

"CONTINUE THE PROCESS, ADDING OUR PRINCIPLES"

Can you introduce the members of your backroom staff and the roles they will play?
We're in the process of finalising the full backroom team. Daniele Cavalletto and Felipe Sanches Mateos, who were already with me in Turkey, will join me here and will be my two assistants. Osman Kul will be our video analyst and Jarkko Tuomisto our goalkeeping coach.

But our staff is much bigger than that, we have a large department dedicated to physical preparation. We have a large group of assistants who will help us to individualise the work, which is something we wanted. The idea is to work on the team as a whole, but also on individual development. We want to help our players progress on a daily basis, and to do that we need a fairly large team.

You're a goalkeeping specialist. What is your view on OGC Nice's current goalkeepers?
Right from the start of our discussions, the main idea was to assess the quality of the current squad. The three goalkeepers offer us excellent guarantees. They'll help us with our ideas for the game and we can't wait to start working with them. The work on the pitch will help us to see things more clearly, but they are very valuable players who are at different stages of their careers. We're going to try to make the most of their qualities and put them to good use for the team.

Have you analysed OGC Nice's work over the last six months under Didier Digard? How are you going to work with him?
That was part of our thinking. As I said to the players this morning, we're not here to throw anything away. There has been a lot of quality work done, especially over the last six months, which has produced results. We're here to continue the process, adding our own principles. My assessment of the results is very positive. We're picking up with a team where a lot of work has already been done, which will make the process easier and quicker for us.

Do you speak any French? And do you have a message for the OGC Nice fans who are looking forward to meeting you?
I need to improve, and from next week, my staff and I will be taking lessons. One of my main objectives is to be able to express myself in French quickly.

As far as the fans are concerned, I've already been able to speak to the club's employees. One of my ambitions is to create a common spirit, an identity, because what happens on the pitch is a reflection of what happens off it. I'm going to send the same message to the fans: our team spirit will be the result of what our supporters give us, to help us to be better on the pitch. From our perspective, we want to make them happy and proud.

You started out as a head coach in Turkey when you were just 31 and you've arrived in France at 34. Does starting here at such a young age add to the pressure?
Pressure is an integral part of being a coach. I have to admit that throughout my career in football, I've been lucky because I've always been very young in the roles that I've taken on.

Turkey was an exceptional opportunity for me. I'd like to thank the clubs who put their faith in me, because they believed in me several years ago. Turkey is a very formative league, there are a lot of talented players and, a bit like France and Italy, it's a country that's incredibly passionate about football. I hope to be able to use this experience to make my mark in Nice.

Nice will be facing some tough sides in the first few matches of the league...
It's a nice welcome present (laughs), but it's a source of motivation. We've got some tough games coming up, against teams that are full of ambition, even though we also have our own. It'll be a great opportunity, which will allow us to get stuck in straight away. It will help us in the difficult moments of pre-season, when it gets tough and we have to push to get to those last few yards. It will be motivating for us.

Do you arrive with a well-defined game plan or are you waiting until you have the first recruits to finalise it?
It's going to be crucial for us, as soon as we start with the ball in training on Wednesday, to start creating a common approach, to take advantage of every second to get the project going and to believe in a vision, because to play the football we want to play, we have to believe in it. The idea is to get started as quickly as possible, to be efficient but also quick to deliver our message because we won't have much time.

How do you see Ligue 1 compared to the Italian league?

There are a lot of differences. Ligue 1 is a league where the natural talent of the players is much more exposed, where the physical levels and intensity are impressive.

It's a different approach. In Italy we try to have more control of the game, to play in a more organised manner, to concede fewer opportunities. But even in Italy a lot is changing at the moment, with new coaches, new players and the natural evolution of football.

Ligue 1 is also going to progress and become more demanding over the next few seasons, with players and coaches coming from different horizons and the tools that we have available today.

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