Thursday, January 8, 2009

Bocanegra at Rennes: "A Real Leader"

On Monday, Carlos Bocanegra and his Stade Rennais teammates got off to a good start in 2009 with a 1-0 Coupe de France victory over Sochaux.

The team is currently in third place in Ligue 1 with 34 points, four points behinds leaders Olympique Lyon and one point behind second place Bordeaux.

Reflecting on how the team's new additions have done during the first half of the season, manager Guy LaCombe told the Ouest-France: he saw "a good surprise with Kader Mangane (pictued on the far right) in central defense and as for Carlos Bocanegra, on balance I knew he would fit right in and he's turned out to be a real leader. ”

Bocanegra and the rest of the the Rennes squad will start the chase for the league championship on Saturday at home against FC Nantes. At the same time, Lyon is reportedly interested in acquiring Rennes right back Rod Fanni, who has started every game for the club this season.

When asked about the report, Fanni told the French media: "I've heard talk. Lyon has made contact with my agent. I won't lie, there were discussions but between that and saying I'm on my way… it's way too soon. They simply made enquiries. I would like to stay at Rennes for at least the rest of the season because things are going well here. After that, we'll see."

If the club ends up selling Fanni this summer, they would be wise to consider picking up FC Toronto's Marvell Wynne, whose speed and technical ability would make him a perfect fit.

Photo courtesy of Ouest-France

1 comment:

Etymology said...

I'm glad that his time at Stade Rennais is proving all the doubters wrong. He is growing and improving and, along with Onyewu, Howard, and Donovan, the best players on the USNMT.