Season 2010/2011

After a season acclimatising to Rennes, Antonetti decided to change direction from a sporting perspective. He opted to make some cuts to the squad (Hansson, Bocanegra, Briand and Sow departed) in order to give a chance to the younger generation who had won the Gambardella Cup (French FA Youth Cup) in 2008. (Théophile-Catherine, Souprayen, M’Vila and Brahimi) and to three young recruits (Carrasso, Kana-Biyik, Mandjeck). Despite the sales of Gyan and Bangoura at the end of August, the team did well thanks to a ruthless defence, centred around captain Mangane. On the 3rd Octobre, Rennes beat Toulouse 3-1, and became leader for two weeks. At the Winter break, Rennes were in the top 3 with 31 points behind Lille and Paris Saint Germain, in spite of all the injuries sustained during 5 months. With the arrival on reinforcements in the shape of Boukari, Stade Rennais regained its offensive prowess, easily disposing of Cannes (7-0) and Arles (4-0) before being humbled by Sochaux (5-1) and Reims (3-4) in successive games, only to go on to win 5 games on the spin. Leader with Lille at the beginning of March, Rennes could only manage 7 points from their last 12 matches and finished only 6th.