Philippe BERGEROO

After the disappointment of Christian Gourcuff’s tenure at the helm of Stade Rennais, the club decided on a radical change of course in the Summer of 2002. Pierre Dreossi became General Manager and chose Philippe Bergeroo to manage the team. Two years after being sacked by Paris Saint Germain, the former international goalkeeper tried to impose a unusual 3-5-2 formation which visibly didn’t suit the players at his disposal. As a result, players such as Anthony Réveillière, Philippe Delaye and Olivier Sorlin (to name but three) all ended up being played out of position. Aside from the excellent Petr Cech in goal, the summer signings (Andrès Fleurquin, Gueorgui Ivanov and Gabriel Loeschbor) didn’t make things any easier for their new boss After 8 matches, Bergeroo brought the youngsters Didot and N’Guéma into his starting line-up, transformed into a 4-4-2 and scored their only victory of the campaign against local rivals Nantes (1-0). The two defeats which followed sealed his fate, and Vahid Halilhodzic, someone who Pierre Dréossi already knew very well from his time at Lille, took over the reins.