Soccer. Bourigeaud, the Breton ch’ti of the Rennes stadium

Spring seems to smile on Benjamin Bourigeaud. The ch’ti of the Breton players is in Olympic form and pulls the « red and black » up. By hosting Monaco this Friday evening (April 15, 9 p.m.), the Rennes stadium, currently 3rd in Ligue 1, has the opportunity to eliminate a competitor for the podium. For that, he will still count on « Bourrige ».

« Vote Bourige », « Bourigeaud president »! On social networks, supporters hailed his performance as boss with two goals scored, which allowed the Rennais to win Saturday in Reims against their pet peeve (3-2), despite great defensive feverishness.
With this success, the Rennais are 3rd (56 points), four lengths ahead of 4th and six over Monaco (6th at 50 points), which has been winning a string of victories since its card against PSG (3-0).

Of course, Bourigeaud was decisive in the last match, in Reims, with his double, the first of his career, first by bursting into the area to head back a cross from Gaëtan Laborde, then four minutes later by combining marvelously with Hamari Traoré.
But above all, he took the initiative beforehand to go lower on the ground, when the Rennais were badly embarked, to restore fluidity to the game.
« I felt that I had to move a little more to try to lose them a little in terms of their defense. It smiled on us“, he explained when leaving the locker room.

Coach Bruno Genesio, who always encourages his players to switch positions, appreciated: Bourigeaud « was one of those who allowed us to come back to the game through his movements, his technical quality, the calm and serenity he brought« .

He is an exceptional player. Whether on set pieces, on assists, on goals, he is present. He is really confident. And when you have a Benjamin Bourigeaud at this level, of course, it makes the team shine.

Santamaria, Stade Rennes midfielder

The midfielder was born in Calais, trained in Lens and arrived in Rennes in the summer of 2017. While he has always been a good player, an excellent free kick and corner taker, generous in effort, he has clearly reached a milestone this season.
He regularly takes the game on his own, having quite naturally worn the captain’s armband in January when Traoré was at the African Cup of Nations.
In Rennes’ last six matches in L1, he has been directly involved in more than half of the many Red and Black goals: 5 goals and 6 assists, bringing his total for the season to 9 goals and 14 assists.
On March 21, he found himself in prestigious company on the podium of the best passers in Ligue 1.

In a very rich squad, he is the only Rennes player to have started all the matches. With one unfortunate exception, since he missed the 16th final of the Coupe de France lost to Nancy in early January (1-1, 4-3 tab) because of a positive Covid test.
At 28, would he be in the best shape of his career? « Maybe… I work for it everyday“, he replied soberly on Saturday.

But to the great despair of Red and Black supporters, his performances also attracted the interest of recruiters, while one year from the end of his contract, negotiations for an extension to Rennes are not progressing, according to several media.
« Being in a club like Rennes allows you to progress even further. And for 4 years, we have been playing the European Cup, I like it. In addition, I am well established in the city, my family takes full advantage of it.“, he acknowledged.
But he is clearly listening to the proposals expected from abroad: « I want to discover something else, to discover another language, another culture…«