S

Gary Smith turned professional in Falkirk, in the Scottish second division. howeverm, he discovered the high level with Aberdeen, where he won a League Cup in 1995. In 1996, he joined Stade Rennes, who also recruited his compatriot Allan Johnston. Smith played around fifteen matches in central defence during the season, but didn’t really manage to stand out ahead of François Denis and Corneliu Papură. He then returned to Aberdeen, where he spent three seasons, before playing during seven years with Hibernians. in 2006-2007, he ended his professional career with Cowdenbeath in the Scottish third division. A last season in which he spent a few months on loan in Dundee, in second division.

Loyal between the loyals, Olivier Sorlin stayed during eight years in the Rennes team, playing over 200 games under the black & red colours. He is a versatile midfielder and able to play with both foots, the native of Saint-Etienne has the ability to handle the strong and weak periods of his team with a very good conversation of the ball and a quality of pass just as good. Left off by Guy Lacombe in the begining of season 2008-2009 he is loaned in january 2009 to PAOK Salonique then definitely transfered to the greek club, satisfied by his performances.

A 2003 Gambardella Cup winner along the likes of Gourcuff, Faty or Briand, Arthur Sorin was awarded a first one-year professional contract in 2005. Loaned to Vannes OC, then in the French 3rd division, Arthur earns playtime but fails to gain the staff’s confidence. Back from his loan, Sorin joins the Reserve and plays a few games only, while searching for a new club. In Januray 2007, he signed a two year contract for Swedish club Kalmar FF, before being recruited by Danish side Aarhus.

Loaned to Rennes during the 2005 summer, Laszlo Sepsi, a U21 Romanian international, joined his fellow national Laszlo Bölöni at the club. Mostly playing with the Reserve, despite a few appearances with the professional squad, he displayed good technical skills and a resolutely offensive spirit, but also a sometimes hazardous positioning on the pitch. After Bölöni’s departure to AS Monaco, Sepsi wasn’t kept by the club, and went back to his country to play with Gloria Bistriţa, a Romanian first division team. A year and a half later, he was recruited by the prestigious Benfica Lisbon, and received his first call-up to the Romanian national team. However, he had very little chance to play in Portugal and was loaned to Santander, Spain, six months later, where he played 24 games but wasn’t kept in the team. In January 2010, Romanian club Timişoara FC offered 1.5 million euros to Benfica to recruit the player.

Let on the side of the first team for many seasons, Moussa Sow had a rather discrete start to his professional career, only showing glimpses of his talent during three seasons. A rather positive loan experience in Sedan (Ligue 2), in 2007/2008, allowed him to gain some useful playtime and score a few goals, and his return to Rennes was marked by a renewed goal-scoring ability. Often decisive, Moussa Sow was one of the biggest satisfactions of the 2008-2009 season, and the striker was expected to hold a major role in the club’s future. However, he declined the club’s offers for an extension of his contract, and signed a contract for Lille on a free transfer in June 2010.