Serge LENOIR

Born in the Côtes d'Armor region of Brittany, Serge Lenoir was a striker with a rare gift. He was developed as a youngster with AS Servonnaise, and was recruited by Stade Rennais in 1968. In his first two seasons in a Red and Black shirt, he was mainly considered as a luxury replacement, and he alternated between the starting line-up and the substitute's bench. He would still end up making nigh on 50 appearances in two years, and a convincing goalscoring record, scoring just under twenty goals in that time. In the 1970/1971 season, he managed to increase his game-time, and played a considerable part in Rennes' victorious French Cup run. but regrettably was unable to participate in the final itself. That year, he also got 3 call-ups for the French U21s, finishing Rennes' top-scorer, 9th in the overall table of First Division's leading marksmen, with 16 goals to his name. His good statistics were repeated the following season. After making more than 130 appearances for Rennes, he left Brittany to sign for Bastia in Corsica, in 1972, this despite previously being expected to sign for Paris Saint Germain. In Corsica, he would become a key figure in Bastia's offensive armada for four seasons. In 1976, he wanted to return to his native Brittany, signing for Brest, but - in doing so - he missed out on Bastia's famous European campaign in 1978. He would thus regret leaving too soon. He ended his playing days in Finistère, playing three seasons in the Second Division, and a final campaign in the First Division in 1979/1980, albeit with Brest finishing up bottom of the table. After hanging up his boots, he remained in the region, and turned his attention to another hobby, Petanque.