Alain BERNARD

Born in Hyères, Alain Bernard began his playing days with Octeville Hague Sport near Cherbourg during his youth, before being scouted by Stade Rennais in 1973. For his first professional game, he came on as substitute in a First Division match against Lens (0-1) on 1st September 1973. Bernard was an attacking midfielder, but was mostly used in attack. He struggled to make the breakthrough into the starting line-up, and was regularly relegated to the substitutes' bench. He still managed to make 20-odd appearances per season on average. Deployed in all positions along the front line for Rennes, he would play alongside Pokou notably during his first two years, then with Guermeur, Redon or Spreco in the seasons that followed. He would experience life in both the First and Second Divisions whilst at Rennes, his stay in Brittany lasting five seasons in total. Having been a regular starter at the beginning of the 1978/1979 season, he would score 7 goals in 8 league fixtures, of which a four-goal haul in a home game against Amiens on 19th August 1978. In spite of a good start to the season, Rennes, in major financial difficulties, were forced to sell Bernard to another Second Division club, Angoulême, in October 1978. Whilst there, he would rapidly earn himself a regular place in the starting line-up, and had his most prolific season, netting 11 times. After this convincing season, he caught the eye of Nancy's boss, who brought him to the Lorraine region, in the East of France, in 1979. But his return to play in the top flight would not prove to be conclusive, and he stayed there for a single season. In 1980, he returned to Brittany, joining Guingamp, who were in the Second Division at the time. He finished top scorer there, scoring 7 goals in his lone season with the club from the Côtes d'Armor region. It would be his last task of professional football, as he then moved on to Cherbourg for whom he would play in the Fourth and then Third Divisions between 1981-1988. He sadly passed away on 25th January 2019, aged just 65.