"I have a passion for this club": a look back at Jean-Pierre Rivère's history with OGC Nice
Gilbert Stellardo holds a press conference at the now-defunct Charles-Ehrmann training ground. The president of OGC Nice formalizes the sale of 51% of the club's shares to Jean-Pierre Rivère, a 53-year-old businessman who grew up in Nice and made his fortune in real estate.
Eleven million euros were injected into the coffers, a holding company bringing together 49% of the four minority shareholders (Gilbert Stellardo, Marcel Governatori, Louis Bacchialoni, Jean Bessis). "I didn't come here to make a financial transaction. I came for OGC Nice because I have a passion for this club. I wouldn't have invested in any other," promises the new boss, who was installed on July 11, 2011.
November 2011"The Top 10 is a realistic goal," Jean-Pierre Rivère declared in July during his first conference as president. Disappointed by the summer transfer window and the start of the season, he made his first major decision four months later: Eric Roy was dismissed from his position as coach and replaced by his assistant, René Marsiglia.
May 24, 2012Claude Puel is the new Gym coach, Lionel Letizi takes over goalkeeping training. A turning point for the club, a heartbreak for the president, now assisted by Julien Fournier as general manager. "JPR" must end René Marsiglia's term despite his courage, his extraordinary determination, and a completely crazy 4-3 victory at Lyon that kept the club in Ligue 1 on the final day. "The hardest moment of my presidency because René is someone I really appreciated, a very nice person," the man confessed eight years later.
May 26, 2013" Claude Puel's speech perfectly matches what we wanted to hear," Rivère also justified in the summer of 2012. "In terms of the project and the relationships, we are in phase. It's a very intuitive feeling, the future will tell us if we have succeeded. " A year later almost to the day, Nice won 2-0 in Ajaccio thanks to Dario Cvitanich's 19th goal and finished 4th in Ligue 1. The first winning moves from a president who is a master of intuition.
January 5, 2015With an assist from Mathieu Bodmer, Jean-Pierre Rivère once again uses his instincts to attract a genius: Hatem Ben Arfa signs for OGC Nice. A match played with Newcastle U21s before his loan to Hull City ultimately prevents him from wearing a third jersey in the same season. This setback precedes a backlash in the spring.
April 4, 2015Nice hosted Evian at the Allianz Riviera, but the Populaire Sud had other concerns. " During the first half, Julien [Fournier] and I asked for our resignations. There had been complaints by name after the excesses against Bastia, which didn't go down well with the supporters ," Jean-Pierre Rivère explained a few years after the match, the outcome of which he never saw. "At half-time, we felt really fed up, and we decided to go home." "I never thought about throwing in the towel at that moment," he added. He was right to do so.
May 2016After two seasons that fell short of expectations, Claude Puel rewarded the trust of the Rivère-Fournier duo with a second 4th-place finish in Ligue 1 in 2015-2016. Behind the scenes, Chien Lee, Alex Zheng, Elliot Hayes, and Paul Conway regained an 80% stake in OGC Nice. A few months earlier, he had sniffed out the dirty trick by Edward Blackmore and the wealthy Saudi prince. On the pitch, at the end of August, Balotelli joined Dante and Belhanda. More winning bets for the president, who managed the feat of convincing both Lucien Favre, who arrived in June, and Mino Raiola.
November 11, 2016JPR has been elected to the board of directors of the Professional Football League. This is the first time since Maurice Cohen (2004-2009) that OGC Nice has been represented on the decision-making body.
August 22, 2017It had vibrated like never before in Amsterdam two weeks earlier. But this Nice-Naples match remained special for its sweet Champions League music. "A very beautiful memory, I was happy for our supporters. But the goal that evening was to hear it in the group stage. We have to get there one day..."
OCTOBER 5, 2017Roger Jouve and Mario Balotelli share the same opinion: this new Gym training center is a resounding success for an investment of 13.5 million euros. Rivère came to OGC Nice to build it. Another success.
January 2019However, the Chinese-American investment has become disappointing after nearly three years. Rivère and Fournier want them to leave the club, even if it means leaving first to put pressure on them.
August 29, 2019" I didn't leave to come back, it was Ineos who requested my presence to buy the club," the president promised again yesterday. " We're not tied for life, but we hadn't finished the job ," was the Rivère-Fournier duo's contentment at the time. With more than 100 million euros invested by the British petrochemical group and the Ratcliffe brothers (Jim and Bob), a new adventure as deputy president begins for Rivère.
JUNE 2022More focused on his work within the governing bodies, "JPR" is regaining momentum following the departure of Julien Fournier, a CEO who has fallen out with Galtier and Ineos. Rivère has brought back Lucien Favre, but the failure of this second season will erode the trust that shareholders have in him.
July 11, 2025Jean-Pierre Rivère has announced his departure at the end of his term on August 20. Fabrice Bocquet will take over, one year after the arrival of Franck Haise, the coach, and Florian Maurice, the sporting director.
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