Christian BASSILA

Boosted by their 5th place finish in the league, Stade Rennais FC tried to make shrewd signings in the summer of 1999. Diatta, Diouf, Escudé, Gava, Maliki and Bassila all arrived at the club. The giant midfielder, who was a product of Lyon’s Academy setup had the difficult task of replacing Edouard Cissé, who had returned to Paris Saint Germain at the end of his loan spell. He got off to a promising start at his new club, providing great solidity with his link play, and had even scored twice by September. Unfortunately, his weaknesses were cruelly exposed as time went on. In a team, which was perfectly balanced around Cissé during the previous season, Bassila struggled with his consistency and his concentration. The Manager and the Board were not wrong. He was loaned out to West Ham the following season, and then transferred permanently to Guingamp in 2009, where he became captain, and claimed his revenge by lifting the French Cup against Rennes (2-1).