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Laurent Pokou is one of the best, maybe even the best player who ever played for Stade Rennes. He started his career in his country, Ivory Coast, with ASEC Abidjan and then USFRAN Bouaké. Back to ASEC, he built up a national reputation by winning many titles, and an international reputation with the “Elephants”. The Best scorer of the 1968 and 1970 ACNs, he scored fourteen goals during these two editions, a record that stood for nearly forty years. In 1972, he took part to a « Mini World Cup » in Brazil, where he was showered with praise by Pelé. Logically courted by prestigious French clubs, Pokou left Ivory Coast in December 1973, only. Already 27 years old, he signed with Stade Rennes, thanks to an intervention of François Pinault and his network of acquaintances. The Breton public immediately fell in love with this disconcerting striker, capable of improbable exploits. The team revived thanks to this reinforcement: moribund in D1 until then, Rennes avoided relegation a first time. However, despite Pokou’s contribution (15 goals in 1974-1975), Rennes couldn’t avoid the drop to D2 next year. Encouraged to leave Rennes by the Ivorian press, Laurent Pokou finally decided to stay. The beginning of his season was astonishing, with seventeen goals scored in eleven matches. Unfortunately, during a game at Châteauroux, his season was stopped prematurely, because of a major knee injury. Pokou would not play again for seventeen months. Victim of serious financial troubles, and once again relegated in 1977, Stade Rennes had to let go its Ivorian pearl. Pokou was transferred to Nancy, where he played alongside a young Michel Platini. The forward would never achieve to play at his best, because of a virus. In September 1978, he decided to come back to Brittany, in the « club of his life », Stade Rennes. This come back only lasted few months, unfortunately. At the end of December 1978, he shoved a referee during a French Cup match at Saint-Pol-de-Léon, and received a two-year ban (a sentence reduced to six months after appeal). Sickened, he came back to Ivory Coast, where he ended his career with ASEC Abidjan. He then started a short coaching career, invested on textile industry, and then managed a few clubs. He then became part of the Ivorian federation and an ambassador for the FIFA.

In 1995, as Stade Rennes was looking for a new goalkeeper for its professional team in order to replace Pascal Rousseau and to make up for the failed experiment with Gilles Rousset, the club chose an experienced goalkeeper, Goran Pandurović, who already had a ten years career behind him in Yugoslavian championship, where he won two national titles with Partizan Belgrade. Yugoslavian international, Pandurović played in Rennes for two seasons, before leaving his place to young keeper Tony Heurtebis 1997-1998. Aged 35 years, he then ended his career and became a goalkeepers coach. He worked back in his country of birth, especially with the national squad, before being integrated to the Partizan’s staff in 2007.

Born in Paris and trained at PSG, Grégory Paisley never really made it at the capital’s club. In January 2001, Stade Rennais recruited him to add a little more competition to the left-back position, but there too he struggled to break through. In a season and a half, he only started twenty-five games. After a season-long loan at Le Havre, the club sold him to FC Sochaux. Since then, Paisley played for a few Ligue 1 clubs. In June 2011, he joined Guingamp on a one-season contract.

Lacking competition in Auxerre, the Cameroon international decided to look for a news challenge with the “Rouge et Noir”. Often criticized by the fans, Perrier-Doumbé struggled to offer regular high level performances. Unfortunately for him, he got injured just as his performances started to improve, and he even lost his place in the starting eleven to the benefit of another Cameroon player: Stéphane M’Bia. However, he came back well to be one of the best men in the team in 2006. At Mario Melchiot’s arrival to play at right back, Perrier-Doumbé decided to go for a new challenge in Scotland, signing for Celtic Glasgow in January 2007.

Young goalkeeper from the Rennes Academy, Florent Petit signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2009. First choice keeper of the brilliant generation that won the 2008 Gambardella Cup, Florent Petit had managed not to go through the whole competition without conceding a single goal. Remaining in the shadow of Nicolas Douchez, and pushed out by the competition of Carasso and Diallo, he left the club in June 2010.

This experienced striker broke onto the main stage only late in his career, playing his first Ligue 1 game when he was already 28 years old. Before that, he had spent several years between the Ligue 2 and National championship, continuously showing his goal scoring ability. Recruited by Sochaux, he soon become a valuable Ligue 1 player and was highly esteemed by the fans and managers alike, as he was later in Strasbourg and Marseille. In 2007, he joined Rennes and brought his experience along with an impressive technical ability. Scoring 12 goals for his first season, the Angers man responded perfectly to the high hopes placed in him. His second season, however, was less satisfying despite a few outstanding performances, and Pagis was eventually dropped to the bench by Guy Lacombe at the latter stages. In summer 2009, Frederic Antonetti announced that he would not rely on Mickael Pagis as a regular member of his team, but Pagis eventually decided to stay in Rennes until the end of his contract, in June 2010.

At the end of an interesting spell as Andreas Isaksson’s substitute, Simon Pouplin soon became Rennes’ first choice goalkeeper. His former mentor, Christophe Lollichon, talking about him, recognised he had an “obvious talent. He is someone who always analyses his performances, always looks for what is best and works hard to reach it». His 2007-2008 season, however, was much harder to manage, so much that Patrice Luzi ended up taking over the number one spot. When Nicolas Douchez arrived in Rennes, Pouplin was pushed towards the exit, and signed a contract for German second division outfit Freiburg, where he became a key-member of the team and took part in the club’s promotion to Bundesliga.