Louis CARDIET

Louis Cardiet signed for Stade Rennais in 1962, having started his football career in the Youth Teams and First Team (playing in amateur football in Division d'Honneur) for FC Lorient. He was an elegant and athletic defender, who played mainly at left-back. He is the only Rennes player (along with René Cédolin) to have won the French FA Cup twice (1965 and 1971). A passionate artist in his spare time, Cardiet would begin his first two seasons in the Reserves, and made his first appearance on 8th May 1964 against Angers in the unaccustomed rôle of right-back. He eventually became a first-choice member of the starting XI as of the 1964/1965 season, and remained there for 8 seasons. The great run of his Rennes team in the league, and the victory in the French Cup Final of 1965, opened the door for him to the French National Team, for whom he would earn 6 caps up until 1967. He was pre-selected for the 1966 World Cup in England, but didn't make the cut for the final squad, much to his disappointment. In 1971, he won his second trophy with Rennes in the French Cup Final, on his 28th birthday, and wearing the captain's armband. Nicknamed "Loulou" by his team-mates, he would eventually leave Rennes at the end of the 1972/1973 season. With 328 appearances to his name, he currently remains fourth in the all-time list of Rennes players. He headed to the capital to sign for Paris Saint Germain, spending three years at the club between 1973-1976, before bringing his professional playing days to an end, and returning to live in Lorient. In the Morbihan region of Brittany, he would put his boots back on to play amateur football for US Berné, under the management of Jean Prouff and in the company of Christian Gourcuff. He finally hung up his boots for good in 1978. Cardiet passed away on 28th April 2020, aged 77, but will always remain a club legend in Red and Black.