Vahid HALILHODZIC

In 2002/2003, it was the beginning of the tenure of Dréossi as the club’s General Manager. After 10 games, the team, guided by Bergeroo, was slowly sinking, having earned just 5 points from its 10 matches. Pierre Dréossi thus decided to replace him with Vahid Halilhodzic, who he knew from his days at Lille. The Bosnian Manager quickly enforced his discipline on the team, and Rennes responded by winning his first match in charge at Sedan (3-1). The relegation battle had begun, and his player selection was radical! Loeschbor was left out in the cold, Diatta and Réveillère were deprived of the Playstation, while Delaye, Fleurquin, Batlles and Ivanov were progressively removed from the starting line-up. On the other hand, Piquionne became first-choice in attack, and Bourillon was peerless in defence. With an uninspiring style of play, the Bretons managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth, winning their final match of the season against Montpellier (3-1), and just missing out on a French Cup Final place, losing narrowly to Auxerre in the Semis. At the end of the season, “Coach Vahid“ left Rennes to join a club who were more in line with his ambitions – Paris Saint Germain.