Andreas ISAKSSON

In the Summer of 2004, the recruitment team at Stade Rennais had the thankless task of finding a replacement for Cech in goal. The choice was to sign Andreas Isaksson, a Swedish goalkeeper, who had notably had a spell with Juventus. After a convincing display in the European Championships in Portugal, he stood out on account of his height (1.99m), similar to that of his Czech predecessor. Selected behind an experimental centre-back pairing of Ouaddou and Adailton under the stewardship of Bölöni, he had a complicated start in a team that only managed to win 4 of its first 15 league matches. But he still managed to have an excellent second half of the season, with his side qualifying for Europe. In the 2005/2006 season, Isaksson got off to a bad start, conceding 17 goals in 6 games. Suffering from injury, he was left out of the starting line-up from Matchday 11 to 26, and Pouplin did a good job in his absence. At the end of the season, the giant Swede was sold to Manchester City for 3 Million Euros.