Carlos BOCANEGRA

Carlos Bocanegra was a surprise signing in the summer of 2008. But it has to be said that Pierre Dréossi had the flair to recruit the USA international skipper (finalist at the Confederations Cup in 2009) without having to pay a penny to Fulham. At the beginning, he was used as a centre-back, but had a torrid time alongside Borne in defence for his debut against Marseille (4-4). With the rising form of Mangane, and the solidity of Hansson, “Boca” was moved to left-back by Guy Lacombe. Not the quickest defender around, he still provided a good foil for his team mates in defence, to such an extent that his side managed to go 18 matches unbeaten in Ligue 1. His aerial game was surprisingly good, as was demonstrated by the 4 goals he scored, one of which came in the French Cup Final against Guingamp in 2009. He would have become a folk-hero, if his goal had won Rennes the title that evening, but fate decided otherwise, and he joined Saint Etienne, almost unnoticed, in 2010.