Fervently courted by the Stade Rennais, Mevlüt Erding signed for Rennes in January 2012, closing months of an interminable saga. Born in Jura from a Turkish family, he joined the FC Sochaux Academy at thirteen. With the club from Franché-Comte, he made his Ligue 1 debut at the age of eighteen and scored his first goal five minutes after coming off the bench. In 2007-2008, he revealed himself completely, becoming a regular starter and scoring eleven goals in the league. After a second season (…)
A versatile forward, able to play at centre or on a wing, Abdoulaye Sané joined Stade Rennes in July 2011 after completing a trial a few months earlier. Born in Senegal, he started his career with the AS Douanes, a club from Dakar competing in the country’s first division. Having signed a three-year contract, he will have to prove his ability with the reserve before hoping to make the leap to the professional squad.
A fast, technical striker with a love for dribbling, Jonathan Pitroipa comes to reinforce the attacking sector in Rennes at the beginning of the 2011-2012 season. The Burkinabé made a name for himself on the German football pitches, first in Bundesliga.2 with Freiburg, then in the Bundesliga with Hamburg SV. In constant progression since he arrived in Europe, Pitroipa will have to continue this learning curve with the Stade Rennes shirt on. Expected to put the French defences to the sword, (…)
Will John Verhoek follow the steps of Erik van den Boogaard, Stade Rennes’ prolific Dutch striker in the 1980s? Recruited during the winter transfer window in January 2011, the young striker will have to prove his goal scoring abilities and confirm the qualities he has shown in the Dutch second division.
Trained in Châteauroux, where he had his first professional experience in Ligue 2, Razak Boukari spent a long time in Lens. In Artois during four years and half, he built the reputation of a sometimes brilliant often inconstant player for himself. Recruited in January 2011 to strengthen a struggling Rennes attacking line, he will have the mission to confirm in Rennes the potential seen since he came to professional football.
Revealed during the 2003 U20 World cup, in which he played for Colombia, Víctor Hugo Montaño arrived in France in 2004. After scoring fifty goals in a bit more than 60 games in his home country with his club of Los Millonarios, Montaño indeed signed a contract for Istres, freshly promoted to Ligue 1. Although he managed to gain some playing time (33 games, including 11 starts), he finished the season with only 2 goals to his tally. While Istres was relegated at the end of the season, the (…)
Born in 1988 in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Jirès Kembo Ekoko arrived in France very young. Starting his career in Bondy (Greater Paris Area), he soon joined the INF Clairefontaine. Three years later, he moved to Britanny and Rennes’ Football Academy. The powerful striker quickly found his marks in Rennes, and soon became a major pied of the Reserves squad, scoring goal after goal during two seasons. After signing a first professional contract, and despite obvious qualities (…)
A quick and unpredictable left winger, Abdoul Razzagui Camara was part of the 2008 Gambardella Cup winning team. 2007-2008 was a difficult season, however, for the young Guinea born player, because of a big injury. After signing a first professional contract, his next season was much more positive, and he proved himself as a valuable member of Laurent Huard’s reserve team. He was even called by Guy Lacombe to make his Ligue 1 debut at the end of that season. In Summer 2009, he was loaned (…)
At his arrival in Rennes, Youssouf Hadji joined Laszlo Bölöni, who had offered him his first games in the French first league with Nancy. Rarely included in the starting eleven, Mustapha Hadji’s little brother started his Rennes career on a high, scoring three goals for his first three games (including one in the 2005/2006 UEFA Cup). Despite his visible envy, he never managed to convince neither Laszlo Bölöni nor Pierre Dréossi, the latter leaving him on the substitute bench on a regular (…)