Forwards

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 at the same level, he became a target for the biggest teams in France and eventually signed in Paris. His debuts were encouraging, with fifteen goals in his first season, but the next seasons would not be as satisfying. The arrival of Qatari investors to the club completed his fall into disgrace. After spending the end of 2011 on the bench, Erding joined the Stade Rennais with the intention to re-launch his career.

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, the player will have the mission to bring a bit of his extravagance within Frédéric Antonetti’s tactics.

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 Colombian joined Montpellier, then in Ligue 2. Again, his debuts were difficult, with only 12 goals in 88 games for his first three seasons. But the following two years would reveal his ability, with 15 goals scored in 2008-2009 and 11 in 2009-2010. His performances eventually caught the eye of the Stade Rennais, then looking for a substitute to Jimmy Briand.

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 such as pace and technical skills, he struggled to find a place in the first team to develop his potential. Up to this day, he’s been trying to nibble playtime without managing to become a first team regular. However, Kembo Ekoko remains a hot prospect for the future, and signed a contract extension for another 3 years in January 2010. All eyes are on him, to become a major member of Rennes’ first team squad. He certainly has the talent.

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 to Vannes (L2) to gather some professional experience, and made his mark as a first time regular in the Morbihan.

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 basis during the 2006-2007 season. In 2007, he was transferred back to his first club, Nancy, where he got back on track after being repositioned at centre forward by Pablo Correa. In four and a half seasons, he scored close to forty goals for the Lorrains. At the end of August 2011, when the Rennes management failed to transfer Turkish striker Mevlüt Erding, Youssouf Hadji finally returned to Brittany, where he signed a new two years contract. A “comeback” in which he will hope to make up for his first failed spell with the “Rouge et Noir”