Frédéric Massara has had an intense hiring process. Appointed as Rennes’ sporting director at the beginning of the summer to compensate for the departure of Florian Maurice, who left for Nice, the Franco-Italian worked with coach Julien Stéphan and his management to give a new face to the Breton squad. Twelve players left and eleven arrived, including five from northern European countries: the Norwegians Albert Gronbaek (Bodo/Glimt) and Henrik Meister (Sarpsborg), the Finn Glen Kamara (Leeds), the Dane Leo Ostigard (Naples) and the Dutchman Hans Hateboer (Netherlands).
“A geographical area that is producing a lot of talent”
In an interview with L’Equipe and Ouest-France, Massara explains the reasons for this exploration of the Nordic championships (especially for the first two players mentioned) who have gained in credibility since the advent of Ermling Haaland.
“It’s a geographical area that is producing a lot of talent,” he explains. “A few years ago, when Haaland was playing in Molde and was offered to the whole of Europe, everyone, including me, was saying: ‘Ah yes, ok, he’s good, he’s powerful, but Molde nonetheless. There’s a big difference between the top 5 and Norway, maybe they’re not ready, we have to go through Belgium etc…’ Well, he went to Austria (to Salzburg), he smashed everything and we know the rest. Today, we’re looking carefully at a market that is still ‘accessible’ and players who have a pretty good ability to adapt. And who consider it important to make a stopover like Rennes.”
Recruitment to the detriment of the French market where Rennes had been active the previous summer (Blas, Le Fée). “There were departures of French players but paid very high prices, so in a season where you have to rebuild, it’s true that we have to manage the financial aspect and see how to optimize the situation,” he notes. “And the fact that there are opportunities on the international market with more interesting prices, is something that could have conditioned this aspect. We could have thought of strong French or L1 players, but there were not the conditions or the interest of certain players for Rennes. And the most important thing was the strong will of the players.”
- RMC Sport
