Nadir BENCHENÂA

After being scouted by Manchester United, where he had a successful trial, Nadir Benchenâa left his home in Sweden at the age of 16 to join Stade Rennais. Despite the overtures of St Alex Ferguson, the player’s father preferred Brittany for his son, as the Benchenâa family spoke French. He arrived with the tag of being one of the great prospects in European football. Benchenâa struggled to adapt at first, but still managed to settle in with the youth teams at the club. In May 2003, he came on to replace Yoann Gourcuff in the 75th minute and lifted the Gambardella Cup (French FA Youth Cup) at the Stade de France. Unfortunately, his career was littered with injuries, and he was unable to convince Rennes to offer him a professional contract. He ended up returning to his original team, Hammarby IF, in the Summer of 2003.