Stade Rennais – 2012/13 Season Review
It was a familiar story for Rennes this season. A strong start followed by a disappointing finish. We’ve seen it all before, haven’t we? Perhaps this season more than any, however, the peaks and troughs were so dramatically apparent.
Only three points were taken from the first five games which included a home defeat by local rivals Lorient. There then followed wins over Lille and then-champions Montpellier. Week 13 included perhaps the most impressive win of their season. A wonderful 2-1 win in the capital against the big spending PSG, despite being reduced to nine men for the last 40 minutes. They then followed this up with a loss at home to Evian Thonon Gaillard. Two games which beautifully encapsulated the rocky road Rennes fans must cope with.
By week 24, Rennes had climbed to 5th place in Ligue 1. Romain Alessandrini was in fantastic form having scored 10 league goals including a goal-of-the-season candidate with a thunderous volley against Nancy. Julien Feret and Mevlut Erding were also at the top of their game and Rennes had reached the final of the Coupe de la Ligue following a semi-final win over Montpellier.
The big turning point for Rennes’ season came in week 25, when in a home match against Lille, Alessandrini, who had just been called up to the national team, sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury which would put him out of action for the rest of the season. It was a desperate blow for both the club and the 23-year-old who had been in such fine form up until that point.
From then on in, Rennes’ season dramatically fell away. Only six more points were picked up from a possible 42. It was a rotten run which included home defeats to Troyes and Nancy, who would both end the season relegated from the division, and also heavy losses to Evian, Nice and Valenciennes. Of course they also succumbed 1-0 to St Etienne in the Coupe de la Ligue final at the Stade de France.
All of this resulted in manager Frederic Antonetti announcing on 24 April 2013 that he would be leaving the Stade de la Route de Lorient at the end of the season after 4 years in charge. Rennes would finish the season in 13th place, their lowest finish in the division since the 2002-03 season. They also finished top of the pile for red cards after amassing 10 throughout the season.
So after a season which promised so much but ultimately disappointed once again, were there any positives which could be taken?
The answer is very much a yes.
Youth is still thriving at Rennes, Le50 members Chris Mavinga and Dimitri Foulquier continued their transition into becoming 1st choice full-backs for the club and Abdoulaye Doucoure was the latest emergence from the legendary academy. The youngster announced his arrival on his debut against Breton rivals Brest with a fantastic goal and showed huge potential in the small handful of games he played in. Unfortunately his season and progress was halted in the penultimate game of the season where he, like Alessandrini, suffered a nasty injury as he ruptured his cruciate ligament.
Alessandrini, Feret and Erding all finished in double figures for goals and providing Alessandrini returns to fitness and stays with the club (Marseille reportedly showing plenty of interest) then all three should have significant roles to play next season.
Perhaps the news to bring about the biggest reason for optimism was the announcement that Philippe Montanier would join the club as manager. After leading Real Sociedad into the Champions League following a 4th place finish in La Liga, recruiting the former Valenciennes manager has been a real coup for the men from Brittany.
With rumoured promises of further investment being made for Montanier, Rennes fans should now finally have reason to put a turbulent season behind them.
FINAL POSITION: 13th
Review by @rich_allen85