« So far, we haven’t stolen anything! »
Is Rennes a default leader? Certainly not if you listen to the Breton players, irritated at the lack of recognition to their good beginning of the season. Saturday night’s game in Marseille is, for Rod Fanni and his team-mates, a big occasion to prove a point.
« All the points we have, we did not steal them from anyone.” A week ago, Yacine Brahimi was already complaining at the lack of recognition for his team’s performances. “The truth comes from the pitch”, he reminded.
Two days before the summit before second-placed Marseille, Rod Fanni develops the same idea: “We understand the critics, we are down to earth and we know very well that we can do better. But so far, we haven’t stolen anything! We scored the goals and we were solid in defence. You can’t throw everything away and always want to see the big teams on top.”
The “Rouge et Noir” know they haven’t always been good enough on the style, and that their leadership is mostly due to their “defensive stability”, as Georges Mandjecks reminds. Since nearly a month, Stade Rennes remains on top of the Ligue 1 however. The team is now one point clear of Marseille, four points ahead of Paris, five of Lille and Bordeaux, and seven of Lyon. And they have played against two of these five teams Antonetti considers the best in France, managing two draws (Rennes-Lille, 1-1 and Paris-Rennes 0-0)
Play well and « impress »
« It stimulates us to be rocking the hierarchy, that’s what the coach often says to us too”, Rod Fanni continues. The defender could be replacing Kader Mangane at centre back this wek-end. The Rennes’ captain suspension after his dismissal against Montpellier should be confirmed or cancelled tonight by the discipline commission.
In front of 60,000 spectators at the Vélodrome, Rennes will have the opportunity to prove that their first position is not due to “the season’s incidents”, the French international explains, and he adds: “We really want to stay by the top of the table, we wan’t to impress by managing a good result in Marseille.”
« It’s the place to make a big match and leave our mark on everyone’s mind, Stéphane Dalmat continues. Since the beginning of the season, we are told we aren’t good enough in the play. This time, we play against a team with more experience and quality than ours. We know we can do something good, maybe this Saturday, you will see the real look of Stade Rennes’ football.”
Rod Fanni promises, Stade Rennais won’t be playing an ultra-defensive game at the Vélodrome: “I advised the youngsters to take their chance fully, as Marseille doesn’t like teams that play. If you go to Marseille to play a waiting game, you are sure to get thumped, we will have to show what we can do” , to the OM players, and to the whole France of football.
Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes
- Photo : www.rennes.lemensuel.com