Bastien lives in the United Kingdom but will definitely add some French flair to the site this season. Monsieur Leclair will be bringing his indepth knowledge of French football to the site with some excellent insight throghout the season. Make sure to follow him on twitter @Puchkin_B
I was born in Brittany in the early 1980s. A lifelong fan of Rennes, I have just been through nearly thirty years of ups and downs at the Stade Rennais including promotions, relegations, a new stadium and a Coupe de France final. In fact, most things you can experience in football to the notable exception of a trophy. Some say that it will never happen again, and that Rennes will forever live in the memories of its 1965 and 1971 Coupe de France victories. I firmly believe, however, that I will live to see Rennes triumph again, even if I need to stick around for another 100 years. Formerly editing the English version of Stade Rennais Online, an independent website about Stade Rennais, I am currently contributing to the original French version of SRO as well as to French Football Weekly.
My interest for French football is a direct extension of my love for Rennes at the Breton level, my support of Breton clubs at national level, and my sympathy for most French clubs at continental level. My favourite all-time player could probably be Zinedine Zidane for the memories of 1998, should certainly be Alexander Frei for all the goals he managed at Stade Rennais, but both men remain second to a wonderful player with no connexion with French football or Rennes: the amazing Dennis Bergkamp.
For the new season I can’t see anyone outclassing the Paris Saint Germain. They have simply stepped to a superior level, and even the worse of dressing-room wars would probably not be enough to stop them in their quest of glory. Behind them, Lyon and Lille should fight for Champions League slots with Bordeaux and maybe Rennes. I could well imagine Marseille winning one of the domestic cups, probably continuing their recent Coupe de la Ligue tradition. As for the Coupe de France, I can see Bordeaux reach the final and I will happily name them as my favourites for this season even though I will once again hope for a little miracle coming from the capital of Bretagne.
at 11:07 pm
I assume you hate Nantes then? I have a soft spot for Nantes, mostly due to playing as them in FIFA2001.
Rennes has picked from where Nantes left in 90′s, setting up the best youth academy in France.
at 12:09 pm
I wouldn’t say I hate them. I used to absolutely love the way they played in the mid 1990s and I admired much at the time, even though they were always the rivals…
Naturally, I like nothing more than seeing Rennes beat Nantes, but I wish the Canaris were back in Ligue 1 so we could actually see it happen more often and have some good Rennes-Nantes “derbies” again.
Hopefully they will make their way back up again and we will be able to see those big games returning within the next few years