Barry COPA

Spotted in 1997 by Patrick Rampillon when his Academy side MimoSifcom beat their opponents from Rennes, Boubacar Barry Copa was then followed closely by Rennes’ scouting team. After a season as a professional with ASEC Mimosas, the Ivory Coast goalkeeper arrived in Brittany in 2000. He played matches in DH and CFA (French 4th Division), and then climbed up the goalkeeping hierarchy with the departures of Malicki and Revel, and the insufficient performances of Debec. In November 2001, he became a professional, and was named on five occasions on the teamsheet as understudy to Eric Durand. The following season, he learnt a lot from Petr Cech under goalkeeper coach Christophe Lollichon, and made ten appearances on the bench as sub, and even got his first call-up with the Elephants (Ivory Coast national side). But his route to action was again blocked when Simon Pouplin and Florent Chaigneau arrived, and he left Rennes in 2003 for a new start in Belgium, where he became first-choice, both for club and country.