Season 1971/1972

Reigning French Cup holders from the 1970/1971 season, Stade Rennais participated for only the second time in their history in a European competition, playing in the Cup Winners Cup. The Red and Blacks didn't make it past the first round, though, losing 1-2 on aggregate over two legs to Glasgow Rangers (1-1 draw and 0-1 defeat). For the season curtainraiser, Rennes took on Marseille in the French version of the Community Shield, which ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning that the teams shared the trophy. There were several major player movements at Rennes in the close season, with some key players (such as Rico, Guy and Naumovic) leaving the club. On the arrivals front, two Yugoslavian players signed for the club: Mojsov and Kobescak, whilst former Sochaux striker Terrier and a young Redon, who would become Rennes' first-ever goalscorer in European competition, also joined Stade Rennais. Rennes began the season perfectly, with just one defeat in their opening eight league fixtures, which enabled the Bretons to climb to second place. After a run of five games without a win, they slipped down to eighth, but clawed their way back to leading pack after going nine matches unbeaten. They were well-placed in the top three, but with just one win in the eleven matches that followed, they dropped out of the title race and ended up falling down to their final position, in 11th, which was pretty much in line with their overall stats, 11th best attack, and 12th best defence in the First Division. It proved to be a disappointing end to the season, just as their French Cup run had been - eliminated in the Round of 32 by local rivals Nantes (0-2). On the 23rd May 1972, there was a major change at the club, when the SRUC became the SRFC after the football section separated from the other sporting sections of the club.