For the people of Nice, the “real” derby, that of the Côte d´Azur, will take place in Monaco on Wednesday. But the opposition to the Greens on Sunday certainly resonated with Gouiri, a native of Bourgoin-Jallieu, but Lyonnais since he was 13, when he joined the OL training center.
During the first leg at Geoffroy-Guichard, the Côte d’Azur center forward had already scored the second of three goals in a clear victory in Nice (3-1) and he hopes to repeat Sunday at home, to help the GYM to continue after a important success in Lens (1-0) last week.
Author of already 10 goals in all competitions (six in L1, plus three assists, and four in five Europa League matches) for his very first season as a starter, the young (20 years old) Niçois hopes above all to confirm his value despite the difficulties experienced by his club.
“I would like to play a big second part of the championship”, he said at the very beginning of the year 2021. But in a French Riviera team which has not often turned out well, the international Espoirs ended up, sometimes, by too much to seek the individual solution.
“Amine’s challenge is to find consistency. To me, he has the makings of a big one. He is demonstrating it at the moment, in particular in his involvement in each training session, ”all the same recalled this week his trainer Adrian Ursea, who could associate him with Kasper Dolberg, the usual holder at the post of N.9, who finds everything gently rhythm.
“He has a technique very above average”
“The relationship is very good with Amine. He is a good guy and a good footballer. He loves the game and sees it well. He knows how to dribble and opens up spaces for me, “explained the Danish international, barely older than his friend (23) this week.
After the necessary breath of fresh air in Lens, Ursea recalled that in order to really extricate themselves from the soft underbelly, Nice (12th) now had to “put more aggressiveness on the offensive”.
In Lens, where Nice has rediscovered the virtues of solidity and defensive solidarity with a low and compact bloc, the collective animation has indeed been rather poor and Gouiri, who has expended without counting, sometimes lacked lucidity and discernment in decision-making.
A simple matter of experience according to Patrice Alberganti, former striker of the club, now consultant to France Bleu Azur.
“He has a technique that is very above average. He creates the one-on-one and never refuses them. He is punchy and makes defensive efforts. Even lonely, he finds opportunities. The situation in Nice is complicated, but he just needs to know when to go it alone, when to lean on others and not to overplay. “
At the time of finding the Greens (16th), the former Lyonnais in any case still believes in his young team, in which he sank so easily last summer after his transfer for an amount of seven million. euros. “I trust her. She has great qualities to show on the return phase. We had a lot of injuries but everyone will soon be fit, ”he promised.