A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
Spearheading a classic period for Breton football, Stade Rennais won the French Cup in dramatic fashion in 2019. Trailing Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in a downpour at the Stade de France, Rennes pulled the scoreline back to 2-2. Roared on by 30,000 Bretons, Les Rouge et Noir then won the penalty shoot-out, by which time Neymar and Kylian Mbappé had already thrown in the towel.
It had already been a memorable season for former reserve team coach Julien Stéphan, whose side had already beaten Betis and Arsenal 3-1 in high-scoring fixtures in the Europa League. The French Cup win, the club’s first major trophy since 1971, allowed Rennes automatic entry to the group stage of the same competition in 2019-20.
A year later, under much different circumstances, a third-placed league finish qualified Rennes for first-ever Champions League campaign.
Behind this progress have been a rampant – and rampantly Breton/Celtic – fan culture and one of the finest youth academies in France.
Average attendances of 20,000-plus, buoyed by regular Breton derbies against Nantes, Lorient and Guingamp – and then Brest – have kept a buzz around Roazhon Park, the club’s home since 1912.
Set on the north bank of the narrow river Vilaine that flows through Rennes, the ground has served Stade Rennais from the early days of the Breton League to the visits of Atlético Madrid, Celtic and Udinese in the Europa League.
Founded by former students in 1901, merging with city rivals FC Rennais in 1904 and adopting their colours of red and black, Stade Rennais were a leading club in Breton regional league before World War I. Thanks to Welsh player-manager Arthur Griffith, Stade Rennais, commonly referred to simply as Rennes, regained the upper hand from Saint Servan, today’s US Saint Malo.
Rennes then won the first two post-1919 regional titles, their defence galvanised by defender George Scoones. The Jersey-born player then became player-coach and led the Red-and-Blacks to a first French Cup final in 1922, losing to Red Star.
Turning professional a decade later, Rennes were founder members of French Division 1 in 1932, reaching another unsuccessful French Cup final in 1935.
After the war, a team featuring defender Henri Guérin reached a highest fourth-placed finish in the league in 1948-49, Guérin returning as player-coach a decade later. Later also manager of France at the 1966 World Cup, Guérin lent his name to the club’s football academy opened on the outskirts of Rennes in 2000.
Since then, the training centre has produced several first-team players, kick-starting a successful decade at Stade Rennais.
In between, the club managed to twice lift the French Cup, a replayed win over Sedan in 1965 and a 1-0 victory over Lyon six years later. Manager on both occasions was former Rennes inside-forward Jean Prouff, key man on the pitch in 1971 Breton-born midfielder Raymond Keruzoré, himself later coach at Stade Rennais.
Though Rennes held the later winners Glasgow Rangers to a narrow aggregate win in the Cup Winners’ Cup of 1971-72, the Bretons have only shone in Europe in more recent years.
After two lean decades, Rennes returned to Ligue 1 in 1994, their team dotted with home-produced youngsters. Most notable was the prolific Sylvain Wiltord, later of Bordeaux and Arsenal.
The arrival of retail magnate and contemporary art collector François Pinault as majority shareholder in 1998 saw major investment in the club, with the stadium overhauled and a training complex created. Under Hungaro-Romanian coach László Bölöni from 2003, with goalscoring Swiss international Alexander Frei and goalkeeper Petr Čech at his disposal, Pinault’s newly moneyed Rennes rapidly climbed up the Ligue 1 table.
With Frei as the league’s top scorer, Rennes finished fourth in 2004-05, only to set a sorry precedent with a winless performance in the group stage of the subsequent UEFA Cup. Two later campaigns in the Europa League went the same way.
With the mercurial but injury-prone winger Jimmy Briand breaking through to the first team, Rennes kept in contention after Bölöni’s departure. Reaching two French Cup finals, losing both to Breton rivals Guingamp, Rennes regularly finished in the top half of the table, qualifying for the Europa League through the back door in 2011.
Goals from Colombian international striker Victor Montaño then helped Rennes overcome Red Star Belgrade to set up a creditable campaign in the group stage, with draws against Atlético Madrid, Celtic and Udinese. An easier group in 2018-19 allowed passage to the knock-out stage, and mercurial performances by recent signing Hatem Ben Arfa in surprise but merited wins over Betis and Arsenal.
Coach Julien Stéphan, hired halfway through the season, then lifted his men to turn the game in the French Cup final that April. Among the many subplots that dramatic night were Ben Arfa jangling his winner’s medal at the PSG owner Nasser al-Khelaïfi, who had rejected him the season before – and the emotional Rennes-born Pinault, who had taken the Bretons to untold heights over the previous two decades. “I am so proud, so emotional,” said the billionaire art collector. “When I was young I was a ball boy here.”
Reaching the Champions League a season later, the curtailed campaign of 2019-20, Rennes again gave a poor account of themselves in Europe, a trend that would be broken in 2021-22 under Bruno Génésio. Still keeping pace in the league – for much of the season, Rennes were in the top four – the Bretons headed a Conference League group featuring Tottenham and Vitesse Arnhem.
Although a Covid outbreak prevented Spurs from playing the last match, Rennes had come through five games unscathed, winning three. Pushing Leicester very close in the Round of 16, Rennes reached the knock-out stage of the Europa League a year later, only to face a highly motivated Shakhtar Donetsk side, who took the tie to extra-time at Roazhon Park.
With Rennes heading to the next round, 3-2 up on aggregate, a hopeful cross floating into the hosts’ box on 119 minutes, one that required a routine clearance from centre-back Jeanuël Belocian. Instead, the French U-18 international lobbed veteran keeper Steve Mandanda, taking the tie to penalties.
His counterpart, then only 21, Anatoliy Trubin, then performed heroics to save three spot-kicks to put the Ukrainians through.Soon to make the No.1 jersey his own for Ukraine, Trubin also earned himself a €10 million transfer to Benfica.
After a poor start to the 2023-24 campaign, Julien Stéphan returned to Rennes to replace Génésio, lifting the Bretons to mid-table in the league and the knock-out stages of the Europa League.
After six straight seasons in Europe, Stade Rennais fans began the 2024-25 campaign with only domestic fixtures to look forward to, along with recent memories of a 3-2 win over Milan the previous February that hadn’t been enough to close up the aggregate.
Stadium Guide
The field of dreams – and the story behind it
One of the most passionate stadiums in France, Roazhon Park is home to the Roazhon Celtic Kop, and a fiery display of Breton and Celtic heritage. It was the club’s followers, in fact, who voted in 2015 to change the name of the century-old stadium from Stade de la Route de Lorient. Roazhon is the Breton name for Rennes.
Stade Rennais originally played at another pitch on the south bank of the Vilaine but regular flooding forced them to seek this spot on the main road out to Lorient west of town.
The mayor of Rennes opened the ground, already equipped with a wooden stand, with 3,000 spectators for the gala curtain-raiser with the great Racing Club. Twenty years later, a record attendance of 8,000 was set for the visit of the great… Mansfield Town.
With post-war crowds increasing, wooden stands became concrete and 28,000 crammed into the ground for a cup game with rivals Nantes in 1965.
Crowd numbers dropped in the early 1970s although home support was encouraged by the creation of a new stand behind the west goal, known as the Tribune Mordelles after the adjacent neighbourhood.
In the early 2000s, funds released by new owner François Pinault allowed for a complete five-year modernisation of the entire ground, bringing capacity close to its current all-seated 30,000.
Stade Rennais ultras gather at each end, the Roazhon Celtic Kop in the Tribune Mordelles (aka Ouest-France), the Red Black Roazhon in the Tribune Ville de Rennes nearest town, separated off from visiting supporters in sector Z.
The club shop and restaurant, Rouge et Noir, are set behind the Tribune Lorient (aka Super U) on the main road from town, which faces the Tribune Vilaine (aka Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne) nearest the river.
getting there
Going to the stadium – tips and timings
From the city-centre hub of République, stop E on the other side of the road from the grand Palais du Commerce, bus 11 runs every every 15mins, 30mins on Sat/Sun, to Stade Rennais (direction ZI Ouest). Journey time is 10-15mins. The service also runs from Gares at Rennes station, on the city side of the street outside.
The 54 (direction Le Rheu-Cintré), 55 (direction Le Verger-Mordelles; both every 15-30mins Mon-Sat, every hr Sun) and less frequent 56 (direction Chavagne; not Sun) run from Charles de Gaulle near the station, via Stop E at République, to Géniaux near the stadium.
getting in
Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much
With a capacity of nearly 30,000 and average attendances of just over 20,000, availability is rarely a problem. Ticket offices stand either side of the club shop on route de Lorient, open match days only. The club encourages online sales, usually up to 2-3 weeks in advance.
Prices are set at €14-€20 behind the goals in the Tribunes Ouest-France and Ville de Rennes, rising to €35 and up to €50 for the best seats on the sidelines, in the Super U and Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne.
what to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
The spacious Boutique Officielle (Tue-Sat 10am-7pm, match days) stands behind the Tribune Super U on main route de Lorient. Among the mass of red-and-black merchandise, you’ll find a series of Astérix-type comic books featuring Stade Rennais players as the superheroes.
Home tops in the traditional fire red feature black collar and cuffs for 2024-25. Away is white with grey horizontal bands, again with black collar and cuffs.
stadium tours
Explore the home of Stade Rennais
The Rennes Tourist Board organises 90-minute tours of Roazhon Park, usually once a week on Tuesday mid-afternoons. Visitors can go behind the scenes at Stade Rennais, seeing inside the home changing room, press room and, of course, the stadium itself.
A recent feature is the Galeries des légendes, an interactive presentation of the history of the club. Admission is €15, €10 discounted. The language used is French, both for booking and for the tour itself.
Visitors should gather at Gate 9 of Roazhon Park shortly before the tour is due to begin.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
Pre-match bars line main rue de Lorient near the ground. L’Équipe at No.80, formerly Le Stade, is a classic spot, decked out in Breton-derby splashes from Ouest France and backdropped by the barman’s quite impressive collection of sardine cans, sent in by holidaying regulars instead of postcards. A crowd of football- and rugby-loving regulars talk sport all day long.
Further up, nearer the stadium, the Football Bar (No.110) is equally unmissable, with two large glass cases, one displaying a pictorial history of Stade Rennais, the other the scarves of visiting teams. Celtic fans, here for the Europa League in 2011, also left a flag.
Opposite the stadium, Café des Sports-Chez Marco (No.132) is a large, football-focused establishment with a regularly updated league table posted up – though without the more down-at-heel character of its competitors. It stands on the corner of rue Jean-Pierre Calloc, where restaurant La Planque serves local dishes if you’re after a pre-match meal.
Just past the stadium, Le Valy (No.148bis) is also part restaurant, part bar, the dining room separated off from the bar area if you’re just after a stand-up pre-match swiftie.
At the stadium itself, behind Tribune Super U, still on the main road, the Léon le Cochon is one of the finest of its kind, an expansive restaurant, tastefully decorated with framed photos showing key moments in the history of Stade Rennais.
A sunken area inside has a TV for sports. It opens weekday lunchtimes, when it does a daily menu, and for match nights, when you should reserve (+33 2 99 14 43 76).
