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Stéphane Grégoire is an atypical player. After years playing for Thouars, his place of birth, he became professional at 29 when he signed for Stade Rennais. Unexpectedly, the midfielder became an important part in both the starting elevens of Guy David, and Paul Le Guen the following season. Unmovable for three seasons, and having become the captain of Stade Rennais, his playing time was reduced during his last two seasons with Rennes. In 2002, he left the club to spend another two years in Ligue 1 with Ajaccio and then three years in Ligue 2 with Dijon. In 2007, aged 39, he started his reconversion as a manager by taking the reins at Orléans, in CFA.

During his youth, Jean Grumellon intended himself for the sea, instead of football. A student at the naval and mechanical school of Lorient, he only debuted in football in 1937, at the age of fourteen, at his home in Saint-Servan. During the war, Grumellon took to the sea with friends. Escaping from the Vichy government, he travelled the Atlantic Ocean and joined the free French army in order to serve his country. In 1945, Grumellon returned home and took up football again. He was quickly noticed by Stade Rennes, where he signed a contract from 1st January 1947. After having played quite anonymously with an amateur team, until the time his contract was validated, he joined the first team for the 1947-1948 season. His skills as an explosive striker were obvious to all, andd Grumellon imposed himself as one of the best forwards Stade Rennes has ever known. Endowed of a relatively weak right foot, he however had an excellent kick with his left foot, which made his reputation. For his first season, even though he was positioned on the left wing, he scored no less than 31 goals! The beginning of a long collection... As seasons went by, Grumellon expressed his skills in attack and joined the French national team. With five goals in ten caps between 1949 and 1952, Grumellon realised a respectable international career, but missed the opportunity to become the hero in one the biggest achievement of « Les Bleus » history: on 3rd October 1951, at Highbury, he missed the chance to offer France its first victory against its “best enemy”, England. At the end of the match, he had two major opportunities to score the winning goal. His first shot ended on the goal-post and he kicked the ground instead of the ball in the second. Recovering fast, he was crowned the best goal scorer of the league in 1950 and therefore succeeded to German Walter Kaiser, author of the same performance a few years before with Stade Rennais. In 1952, finally, Grumellon tried a move away from his native Brittany. A two years’ experience proving inconclusive: he only spent six months in Nice, before playing with Monaco, then in D2. After having played in 1953-1954 with Le Havre, where he found his cutting-edge again, he returned to Rennes in 1954. During his absence, Stade Rennes was relegated in D2 however. Grumellon, already 31 years old (because of the war, he started his professional career only at 24), was not as brilliant as before, but still managed to score thirty goals in two seasons. In 1956, he ended his professional career in order to play in his home town, with US Saint-Malo. He also managed a sport store in Rennes, before coming back for good in the Cite Corsaire. Jean Grumellon died there at the end of 1991, at the age of 68. He remains the best goal scorer in the club’s history, with 154 goals.

A striker with an angelic face but “tough” against the defences, Marco Grassi arrived at Stade Rennes in August 1994. From his first match, his love story with the red and black club started with a first goal and a victory against Bordeaux. Skilful in front of the goals, he scored 15 goals in the league for his first season and mainly contributed to the club’s success in avoiding relegation to Division 2. Handicapped by few physical problems, his second season was not as good, even though he scored 11 goals. Having caught the attention of several Division 1 clubs, he was transferred to AS Monaco. Champion of France with Monaco a year later, he didn’t reach the same performance level as during his Rennes’ period. He moved then to Sion, Cannes, Lyon and finally Nice, without any success. In 2006, he became president of FC Chiasso, his first club, before resigning in 2009.

Jocelyn Gourvennec was one of the iconic players of Stade Rennais during the 1990's. He began his career with Lorient and played his first game in Division 2 aged only 16 in 1988. During three years he experienced the chaotic life of a club still having a half-professional status and doing ups and downs between D2 and D3. In 1991, Stade Rennais recruited him as a trainee professional. In the same time, Gourvennec was following Sport Science studies at the university, but soon expectations from professional football caught up with him. Between 1992 and 1994 he truly broke through to become one of the most sought after youngsters in the second division. Big clubs from D1 were soon keeping tabs on him, and Gourvennec joined Nantes in 1995, a club he would play with during the following three seasons. After two shorts spells in Marseille and Montpellier, he came back to Stade Rennais in January 2000, but his second time in Rennes wouldn’t have brilliance of the previous. Not very used by Christian Gourcuff in 2001-2002, he played two more seasons in Ligue 1 with Bastia and ended his career in L2 with Angers and Clermont. At the end of his professional career he joined the FC Rezé in 2006, preparing his coaching degrees at the same time. After a first experience in La Roche-sur-Yon, he joined Guingamp in summer 2010.

Trained in Brest Armorique, Stéphane Guivarc'h started in D1 with the Finistere club. When the club had to bid farewell to professionalism after its bankruptcy, Guivarc'h packed up and arrived close to Brest, at Guingamp. In this club, engaged in D2, he became a promising scorer. His 23 goals scored during the 1994-1995 season seduced AJ Auxerre, who enrolled him in July 1995. His adaptation to D1 was difficult and Guivarc'h only took a minor part in the cup-championship double achieved by the club from Bourgogne in 1996. Loaned to Stade Rennais the following year, he truly exploded under the red and black jersey. With 30 goals scored in a single season, he did better than simply replacing Marco Grassi, and was consecrated the best goal scorer of the championship. Returning in Auxerre next season, he was crowned the best goal scorer for the second consecutive time and was called to the France squad with which he won the World Cup. Then at the peak of his career, he sadly missed several major opportunities to score in the final against Brazil. Despite the title, this World Cup remained a personal failure on a personal level, which wouldl follow him for the rest of his career. Transferred to England after the World Cup, his experience at Newcastle turned out to a stinging failure and he didn’t significantly succeed at Glasgow Rangers either, for the second part of the 1998-1999 season. Back to Auxerre, he scored around twenty times in two years, and then finished his professional career at Guingamp. After a brief experience in Guingamp’s staff, he started a commercial career but fulfils several activities at the same time. He is thus coach of US Trégunc, an amateur team of South-Finistere, and occasionally comments football matches on TV

Arrived in Rennes with his father Christian, Yoann Gourcuff become quickly one of the most promising player of the rennes squad, and participate activily to the successful way during Gambardella 2003 Courted by many big european clubs he decides to stay in brittany, signing his first professional contract at only 17. After a quick integration in the professional group and with 80 games started with the first team, he chooses at 20 years old not to extend his contract to join one of the biggest european club, AC Milano. After a good beginning, he become to be a regular on the bench and deceive to confirm the hopes placed in him. In lack of game time, he comes back in France with a loan in Bordeaux and litteraly exploses to the point of becoming a major player with the french international team.

Observed for 2 years by the Stade Rennais, Asamoah Gyan arrived in Brittany in July 2008. The Ghanaian international player (who scored the first ever goal for Ghana in a World Cup, in 2006) had signed for Udinese Calcio (Italy) in 2003, and was loaned to Modena the following year. He spent 2 years there, scoring 15 goals in 52 Serie B games. Back to Udinese, Gyan scored 10 goals in 31 games, but his final season was plagued by a nasty injury. Recruited by Rennes, he spent most of his first season on the sidelines because of constant injuries. A deceiving first season, but the Ghanaian still managed time to offer a glimpse of his (immense) potential. After following a specific fitness program in summer 2009, he started the 2009-2010 with a fully recovered ability, and made his mark immediately as the leader of Rennes’ offensive line-up. He finished the 2009-2010 season with 13 goals to his tally, and went on to reach the 2010 World Cup's quarter finals with Ghana, scoring 3 goals in the process.