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The Brother of professional tennis player Nicolas Escudé, Julien Escudé followed the way taken by his father Paul, a former professional player of Girondins de Bordeaux. After his beginnings with the teams of Olympique Lyonnais's academy, he finished his training with AS Cannes, where he started his career in D2 during the 1998-1999 season. A year later, while Bordeaux was looking to recruit him it's finally Stade Rennais who managed to sign him. After a time of adjustement, Escudé quickly gained some time on the field with the first squad to become an essential part of Rennes’s defence. Agonisingly close to be recruited by Manchester United in 2002, he was finally transferred to Ajax Amsterdam the following years. In a career made of ups and down, Escudé won his first titles there. In January 2006 he moved to Spain to play with FC Sevilla. A good transfer for the club from Andalusia and also for the player: he made his way as a full member of the team, succeeded to be selected in the French national team, and won several titles, including two UEFA Cups.

Recruited after a trial in August 2007, Elderson Echiejiele had already been spotted by the Rennes scouts during the Junior World Cup, a couple of months earlier. Originally a forward and having progressively evolved to become a left full back, Echiejiele kept his attacking abilities but he had to get used to the European style of playing. Therefore, he had to spend time with the reserves team before having a chance to star in Ligue 1. His first professional appearance eventually came in December 2007, for a league game in Toulouse, with a first start as a left back. Following this first appearance, Echiejiele was regularly part of the rotation under Guy Lacombe’s management. However, he did not experience the same success under Frederic Antonetti, playing most of his football with the reserves.

After Marco Grassi and Alexander Frei, another striker came from Switzerland in December 2006. Julian Esteban, a young and talented striker from Servette Geneve, seemed a bright prospect for the Stade Rennais. Targeted by a number of clubs, Esteban, of Spanish ascent, decided to join Rennes to continue learning. Unfortunately, his first years in Rennes were spoilt by repetitive injuries, preventing him to prove his talent. In July 2009, he was loaned to his first club to try and manage recovering some playing time and footballing sensations. Unfortunately, another serious injury striked him in January 2010, just a few weeks after an encouraging return to competitive football.

Announced as a «Sporting Gamble» by Frédéric de Saint-Sernin, Emerson’s experience in the French League turned a real disaster. Virtually unknown in Europe, the Brazilian striker had been terrorising defences in Japan and Qatar, scoring impressive numbers of goals throughout his career. Aged 28, he arrived in France to try and prove his value in a club where Brazilians had never managed to find success. Emerson was not to be the one. Joining a squad with high attacking potential, he never managed, or was not given the chance, to put himself up as a first eleven player. Quickly bored of waiting for his opportunity, he left back to Qatar only 4 months after his arrival, having only played 6 games as a substitute.

Arrived in Rennes at the end of a disastrous month of August 2005, the Swedish international full back brought immediate stability to a very shaky defence. Regular in his good performances and highly professional, Erik Edman was one of the most valuable players in the “Rouge et Noir” squad during his first season in Brittany. Unfortunately, he then failed to live up to his initial performances, and Pierre Dréossi opened the door to his exit in January 2008, when he was transferred back in England, at Wigan Athletic.