One of the hot favourites of the Europa League, Atlético Madrid arrives this Thursday in Rennes with ambition and great attacking strength. Is Stade Rennes, affected by injuries and anaccumulation of matches, able to rival in an important game for the qualification?
“It’s an exciting game to play, a great experience from which we can learn, make the club better known and make it grow up.” Benoît Costil tends to recognize that Thursday’s match against Atlético Madrid is a strong moment. But the goalkeeper doesn’t seem to feel any inferiority complex: “We were very frustrated to lose in Udine, but it’s all behind us. Now, we face Atlético and the objective is to win, like every other match.”
In order to qualify for the next round, Stade Rennes has to win against Atlético Madrid at home, despite many absences, especially in defence (John Boye and Kader Mangane). As for the opposition, after its victory against Celtic Glasgow, Atlético sees this game as “an important match”, according to Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In the ranks of the club, eighth of the recent Liga and winner of the Europa League in 2010, there is Falcao (17 goals last year in the competition with Porto), but also Diego, the former play-maker of Werder Bremen and Lyon’s former Portuguese midfielder Tiago. A strong squad which make the Castilian team one of the favourites for the final victory. “This is a very nice team, with an elevated technical level”, asserts Frédéric Antonetti. “It is stronger as ours in this domain, but in the athletic sector, our arguments are superiors.”
Stade Rennes accumulates matches and seemed to struggle against Saint-Étienne. But before going to Lille next Sunday, Frédéric Antonetti refuses to skip over: “With a match every three days, I have to manage my team. Even if I didn’t decide who will start, the team on the ground will be very competitive.” "We are forced to do with it if we want to progress and to compete at this level. “, he adds.
Stade rennais runs after a remarkable achievement on the European stage. This season, the team counts on convincing performances against Paris (1-1), in Marseille (1-0) and in Udine, despite the 2-1 defeat. The Rennais realised that they are competing with big teams, as illustrated by the remark of Benoît Costil, concerning Falcao:” I am on my guard with him, as I am on my guard with any other forwards I faced, even in Ligue 2. He has a name, but on the ground, he doesn’t anymore. He is just an opponent ".
Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes
- Photo : www.rennes.lemensuel.com
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