The other Yoann...

May 13th, 2000. The Route de Lorient is holding its breath as the last Ligue 1 game week is played. Barely safe with a point advantage over the relegation zone and Nancy, playing against Auxerre, the Stade Rennais is in dire trouble at the time of receiving Metz. Relegation would be seen as a massive dishonour for the Pinault consortium, the club’s major shareholder.

Anxiety reaches its maximum when Tony Cascarino scores for Nancy and brings his team over Rennes in the general standing. But the worry would soon turn into madness when Yoann Bigné, five minutes into the second half, would beat Lionel Letizi from close range to bring his training club back in the race. With Christophe Le Roux following at the hour, Bigné and the « Rouge et Noir » saved their skin by winning a crucial game, a bad habit in Rennes over the recent seasons.

A way to prove that the little Breton was one of the craftsmen in the Stade Rennais’ progression, over the last decade. He joined the club in 1990, from the US Saint-Sulpice-la-Fôret, aiming to improve his skills under Patrick Rampillon’s management, and signed his first professional contract five years later: "In my generation, except Mikaël Silvestre and Ousmane Dabo, we were not many to make it out of the Academy, and then, they both left the club very quickly”, he reminds, remembering his two Academy team-mates who took profit of the Bosman case to join the Inter Milan in June 1998.

A year earlier, Bigné had opened his silverware cabinet by winning the U19 European championship, alongside the goalkeeper Ludovic Roy and defender Mikaël Silvestre, triumphing over Spain in the final of the tournament. Then, it would all follow, as he started his professional career against Lille, on the 7th December of that year, replacing Laurent Huard: “We won 2-1 after trailing 0-1 (ed. In fact, Rennes was drawing 0-0 and won 2-0) Yves Colleu brought me in with twenty minutes to play, and I was fouled. Kjetil Rekdal was going to shoot the free-kick and told me to take it. I did, Patrice Carteron came across and it went in the net. It was a good beginning. I played eleven games that season. Then I played in the starting eleven the next season.” he remembered this week in an interview to Ouest-France

The new Deschamps ?

A small-sized player, Bigné was remarked from his professional debuts however. He definitely made his mark the next season, by scoring in both games against Nantes, including a fabulous free-kick in the home game to seal a reassuring victory (3-0, with goals by Nicolas Goussé and Loïc Lambert). After yet another last gasp saving in the top flight, earned through a header from Kaba Diawara, Rennes; number 7 had known it all on the Vilaine banks. Meanwhile, in 1998-1999, Rennes was giving it large to try and fight with the big guns, and Paul Le Guen was given a consequent budget.

The recruitment was ambitious, and the results were coming along, as Bigné and his team-mates came close to reaching a final top 3 position, which they lengthily ambitioned throughout the season. The Stade Rennais qualified for the Intertoto Cup, writing one of the finest pages in their history by encountering the mighty Juventus. Beaten in Turin by a brace from Filipo Inzaghi (2-0), Rennes had a glimmer of hope when they opened the score on their pitch, before the Italians brought things back to logic (2-2, goals by El-Hadji Diouf and Shabani Nonda). An unforgettable memory for the former U21 international, who remembers the game with much humility: “Paul Le Guen had told me to mark him (ed: Zinedine Zidane) During the return game, he gave me his special “roulette”. I still see the video once in the while. But I ended up having his shirt”.

One of the key men in Rennes remaining in the top flight in 1999-2000, Bigné’s time on the field and games were soon reducing because of a new concurrence in the squad. He was even left out of the team by Le Guen’s successor in 2001-2002: "Christian Gourcuff told me he didn’t count on me. And because the results were not coming, he had had to change part of his team. In the Intertoto cup, at Aston Villa, I had managed a big game, and I had kept on playing until December. But then, he left me on the touch-line, without any explanation. I did not understand, but this is part of football, he explains, whereas his performances at the time were getting him a lot of praise from observers. After his match against Monaco (3-0, hat-trick by Olivier Monterrubio), the media would even compare him with the then Monaco coach: Didier Deschamps.

"Finish my career on a good note..."

Bored to remain a utility player, he packed his stuff in August 2002, and travelled from Brittany to the French Riviera with Christophe Meslin. Wanted by Nice’s manager Gernot Rohr, his adaptation was quick and he soon became the Stade du Ray’s favourite, conquering the heart of the fans by his skills and commitment. But is Bigné holding any grudges? For his return at the Stade de la Route de Lorient with his new team, the man from Saint-Sulpice made sure to remind everyone of his presence by scoring a goal (with an assist from… Kaba Diawara) and giving an assist.

Fully transferred the following year, Bigné signed a three years contract with Nice to plan his career on long-term. However, as Rohr left the club, he found himself deemed as surplus to requirements by… Frédéric Antonetti, a manager he will meet again tomorrow, with whom he reached the Coupe de la Ligue final in 2006. Maybe missing his home region, he agreed to join Brest, a Ligue 2 team with a strong ambition to reach the Ligue 1 within two years. Not spared by injury since he arrived in the Finistère, Bigné seems rejuvenated since the promotion, and shows all his skills again with his new club.

This Saturday, Bigné will be on the match sheet, but he is expected to start from the bench. Just recovered from a series of injuries, the Brest midfielder came back to the Ligue 1 pitches on October 23rd during his team’s success in Bordeaux (0-2). A surprising leader in this early season, the former Rennes player had known this situation in Nice, before the “Aiglons” lost touch. Nearer to the end of his footballing career, he makes the most of his late footballing career with special objectives: “I’m 33, and my contract runs until 2012, I want to finish my career on a good note and make the most of every moment, have as much pleasure as I can have” he recently explained to Le Télégramme. A notion of pleasure that would certainly include a return to the Route de Lorient. Fourteen years after he started his career there…

Samedi, Bigné prendra place sur la feuille de match mais il débutera sur le banc. Tout juste remis de ses ennuis physiques à répétition, le milieu brestois a refoulé une pelouse de Ligue 1 le 23 octobre dernier lors du succès de son équipe à Bordeaux (0-2). Leader surprise de ce début de saison, l’ancien rennais avait connu cette situation au cours de son passage à Nice avant que les Aiglons ne baissent le pied. Plus près de la fin, il profite de ses derniers instants de footballeur avec divers objectifs singuliers : « À 33 ans et alors que mon contrat court jusqu’en juin 2012, j’ai envie de bien finir ma carrière. Je veux vivre intensément tous les moments et prendre le maximum de plaisir » rapportait-il dernièrement dans Le Télégramme. Notion de plaisir qui comprenait certainement son retour à la route de Lorient. Quatorze ans après y avoir débuté...

- Photo : Bruno Fablet - France Football, 24 August 2001