Stade Rennais celebrates its training centre, pride of the Bleus
The new manager of the Bleus, Zinedine Zidane, has named seven players trained at Stade Rennais in his first squad, representing almost a third of the call‑ups, which puts the Breton club’s academy at the heart of the national news.
Inauguration of the new campus
On October 2nd, Stade Rennais will officially open the Piverdière, a complex of 9,000 m² of buildings and 15 ha of grounds. After more than two years of construction, the project, fully funded with €40 million by owner François Pinault, will be integrated into the professional group, providing young talents with a modern environment.
A history of investments and benchmarks
Founded in 1977, the centre will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. Arnaud Pouille, club president, recalls past accolades – Ousmane Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or and Désiré Doué’s Golden Boy – and emphasizes that “one in three names was a Rennais” in the current squad.
Philippe Barraud, head of recruitment for more than twenty years, has followed the careers of all the players mentioned by Zidane: Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Eduardo Camavinga, Adrien Truffert, Lucas Da Cunha, Andy Diouf and Jérémy Jacquet. He describes the process as a chain ranging from observation to academic and sporting training.
The centre currently hosts between 60 and 65 youngsters, of all age groups, supervised by nearly 80 staff members, including about twenty teachers from the Private Technical School (ETP). The scouts, some of whom have been working for twenty years, form the first link in recruitment.
Landry Chauvin, former director of the centre, recalls that François Pinault’s arrival in 1998 marked a turning point, enabling the club to compete with academies such as Auxerre, Sochaux or Lyon. Philippe Barraud adds that Stade Rennais’s method is “unique” and aims to develop not only professionals, but athletes capable of winning trophies.
The club continues to scan the national territory, spotting talents such as Jérémy Jacquet in Joinville, Andy Diouf in Boulogne‑Billancourt, Adrien Truffert in the Centre region and Lucas Da Cunha in Roanne, in order to maintain its status as a French benchmark.