Stade Rennais or Rennes is one of the oldest clubs in France having been founded in 1901 but despite spending 49 seasons in the top division of French football, Les Bretons are yet to win the Ligue 1 title. They have won two French Cups, last of which was won in 1971, but considering how much progress the club has made during the past few years, I feel it is only a matter of time before they win their first league title. They finished the last league campaign in 7th place, just three points behind fourth-placed Toulouse but are aiming for the top 5 finish this season and who knows maybe they can even enter the fight for the Champions League places.
Rennes have an excellent base for the first team set-up as their youth academy has been voted the best in France for three successive years and I would like to remind you that players like Petr Cech and Yoann Gourcuff have been shaped into the players they are by Rennes’ youth coaches. Their own players make up much of the current first team set-up with Moussa Sow, Jimmy Briand, Fabien Lemoine and Yann M’Vila all coming through the youth ranks at the club. With fresh bunch of talented youngsters making it to the first team every year, the club doesn’t need to spend a lot of money on new players.
The club management have made a very good move by bringing very ambitious Frederic Antonetti to take over the reigns from Guy Lacombe, while they also signed a couple of very good players this summer like Ismael Bangoura, Alexander Tettey and Junichi Inamoto, while excellent striker Asamoah Gyan has finally recovered from injury. When impressive Jimmy Briand returns to full fitness, boss Antonetti will have the team capable of matching the best in the league. Rennes have already proven their immense quality by taking 12 points from first six rounds and they are yet to lose a game this season. I have no doubts they’ll achieve a top five finish this season and if the club continues going in the right direction, I can see them winning the Ligue 1 title in a couple of years’ time.
Frederic Antonetti now has a good blend of youth and experience and this side will obviously continue to progress as the time goes by. With just few more new players and a couple of youngsters from their own academy that will gain much needed experience over the next couple of years, Les Bretons look capable of fighting teams like Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille for the coveted Ligue 1 title.
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