The Stade Rennais, between hopes and uncertainties (Part 1)

Question Time

This Saturday, Ligue 1 will be back after a three months break. It has to be said, Rennes will enter the competition with very little certainty when they receive Lille at the Stade de la Route de Lorient. And the different summer friendlies did not transpire with serenity from the Breton side.

Defensive shakiness and offensive sterility, the balance seems rather fragile in Rennes’ organisation, and the Bretons were certainly hoping for a better preparation to their national objectives. The summary of the pre-season friendlies is pretty average with two wins (Laval & Legia Warsaw), two draws (Nantes & Caen) and two defeats (Brest & Lorient).

One thing is certain however, the “Rouge et Noir” are not showing off at the moment, and the communication seems set to avoid mistakes of the past. In June last year, at Frédéric Antonetti’s signature, Pierre Dréossi and the club’s management said of their intention to reach “another step” during the 2009-2010 season. The result was bitterly disappointing at the term of the season, with a ninth position in the League and two early eliminations in the national cups.

This time, the management has put things back in perspective and a much humbler figure is shown: “We have to do better than last season. We begin a new cycle. But it doesn’t mean this has to be a transition season, we have to be competitive this year. It’s too early to say we’re playing for European spots, but if we can do it, we won’t be too sentimental", the general manager commented to RMC on July 29th. Only Patrick Le Lay, the club’s new president, dared giving a prediction, showing his desire to see Rennes finish in the Top 5, a position the club hasn’t known since their fourth place in 2006-2007.

Whatever happens, many questions remain as the Ligue 1 restart approaches. Will the Stade Rennais be able to play a major role in this season, or will this be another season of missed chances and lost illusions? The first answers will certainly arrive during the first months of August, often a good indicator for the rest of the season. And this might prove tricky according to Antonetti’s words of, quoted on the Mensuel de Rennes after the friendly defeat to Brest: "I know it already. We won’t be ready in time". Let’s hope for the opposite.

Avoid the Divisions

For the first time since François Pinault took charge at the club, 2009-2010 seemed to mark a real fracture between the club, the players and the supporters. A deficient communication was in phase with results far below the “Rouge et Noir”’s expectations.

Following the bitter defeat to Guingamp in the Coupe de France final, the club visibly struggled to get over their huge flop. Troubled by internal conflicts, seeming unable to see the back of the Stade de France failure, the Rennes directors seemed to spend their season settling scores with Guy Lacombe, now the coach of Monaco.

Rather than fighting old daemons, could focusing on the running season have been a better strategy? Antonetti wasn’t first, nor last, to point his finger at the “dark forces”, cause of the club’s bad season according to him.

But how about focusing on football, and learning from last season’s mistakes now? On this side of things, some malfunctions can be spotted in Rennes’ organisation. And, looking back at the season, some sportive choices are still triggering much discussion. Last summer’s recruitment (Bangoura, Inamoto, Tettey) did not bring a real added value to the team, the many departures last winter (Aubey, Cheyrou, Inamoto) removed much of the competition for a first team position, allowing some player to rest on their laurels, and the stereotyped playing style remained mostly based on the talent of a few individuals. All these concerns are still lacking a firm answer.

A bustling transfer window

The club’s headquarters were busy this summer, in the most animated transfer window since Dreossi took charge as a general manager, with no less than 11 players leaving the club during the summer break (Bocanegra, Briand, Echiejile, Hansson, Lasimant, Le Marchand, Luzi, Pagis, Pajot, Petit, Esteban and Sow). You can argue that most of these departures were more or less planned, except maybe for Petter Hansson’s move to Monaco.

However, the transfer market remains open until August 31st, and some players are still targeted by European clubs. Rod Fanni’s case has now been discussed for months between Rennes and thew Atletico Madrid. The negotiations have still failed to reach an agreement, but the situation is expected to evolve over the next few days.

Same situation for Asamoah Gyan, desperately courted by Fenerbahçe, before the Premier League teams (Liverpool, Tottenham…) started showing interest on the player. These are the only two hot cases regarding departures, even though Bira Dembélé and Prince Oniangue have been invited to look for a new team. As for Cheick N’Diaye, he might be looking for a loan, given the competition at the goalkeeper position.

On the arrivals side, in the contrary to the previous seasons, the club showed much activity early in the transfer market, recruiting Onyekachi Apam, Johann Carrasso, Georges Constant Mandjeck and Victor Hugo Montaño before the end of June. Willing to complete the squad before the first pre-season camp at the beginning of July, the Rennes staff nearly managed it. Only Stéphane Dalmat’s transfer was a bit longer to realise than expected.

Despite a quick recruitment, and new players mainly familiar with the French league, Antonetti keeps on repeating that Rennes will not get an advantage of this: “This is a false impression, and I don’t want people to believe it. When you look at Marseille, Bordeaux, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille… All these teams kept most of their squad. They are ready. In Rennes, we had a lot of players leaving, we had to replace them”, he claims.

Power to the youngsters ?

This is one of the only real satisfactions in this summer preparation. Back from season-long loans in Ligue 2, Yacine Brahimi, Abdoul Camara and Samuel Souprayen are ambitious, and they all come back to their training club to earn playing time.
Nearly certain to be a first-team starter at left back since Carlos Bocanegra was transferred to Saint-Etienne, Souprayen has earned Antonetti’s trust, and his recent contract extension keeping him at the club until 2014 proves his inclusion in the club’s long term plans.

Unlike the Reunion Island defender, Brahimi and Camara – both contracted until June 2011 – will still need to wait before knowing the same success. However, the French-Algerian is close to achieving it, having picked twice in the first-team line-up during the friendly games. His technical skills, his vision and his ability to eliminate his opponents are highly rated qualities at this level, and they will most certainly prove very useful during the season.

Just as last year, Camara enjoyed a very satisfying beginning to the pre-season, but was then handicapped by an injury. Trained as left-winger, the French-guinean’s power and stamina could be a welcomed solution when the attacking line fails to make the difference. Aged 20, “Razza” could -finally- managed to get himself some playing time in Rennes. Last but not least, Kévin Théophile-Catherine could also play a role this season, if Romain Danzé failed to convince at the right back position.