Derby Breton

History

The term is derived from its location in the former province of Brittany, and in addition to the principal rivalry between the two major clubs, Stade Rennais and FC Nantes, may also refer to matches involving FC Lorient, En Avant Guingamp or Stade Brestois. These five clubs are each the most successful in the five departments of historic Brittany (smaller clubs such as Quimper Kerfeunteun F.C., US Saint-Malo, Stade Briochin, Vannes OC and most recently US Concarneau have had limited periods of success on a regional level). As such, matches between them are a matter of regional pride and interest rather than a traditional 'local derby' of very close geographic proximity, the five localities being an average of around 160 km apart– the greatest distance is between Brest and Nantes, approximately 290 km.

Rennes and Nantes first met in the 1949–50 Coupe de France, Rennes winning on that occasion. Following their match in October 2023 the fixture has been played 104 times in official competitions, with Nantes ahead with 44 wins to Rennes's 35, and 25 draws. A historic rivalry also exists between the cities over which is the "real capital of Brittany" (Nantes was administratively separated from the rest of the territory in 1941 to anchor its own region, Pays de la Loire, while similarly sized Rennes has been the sole capital of the Brittany region since then) and both clubs display their Breton heritage proudly; Rennes supporters regularly display Celtic symbols at Tribune Mordelles, where the notorious supporters' group Roazhon Celtic Kop are located, while Nantes often display the Bretagne flag in their primary colors, yellow and green.

Lorient's elevated status in the derby came about from their promotion to Ligue 1 at the turn of the 21st century (1998–99 then 2001–02. Though relegated immediately on both occasions, they went up again for the 2006–07 season and this time remained in the top division consistently. This was in direct contrast to Nantes, eight-time French champions and members of the top tier since 1963, who finished 20th in that 2006–07 season and were relegated to the second division. They went back up then down again over the next two years, and did not regain what would prove to be a regular Ligue 1 place until the 2013–14 season; in their absence, the main Breton derby was considered to be contested by Rennes and Lorient (although Brest were also in the league in three of those seasons).

There was heightened interest in Breton clubs following the 2–1 victory by lower-division Guingamp over Rennes in the 2009 Coupe de France final; this was the first final since 1956 where both participating clubs were based in the same region and both clubs displayed their Breton culture proudly. The pair met again in the 2014 Coupe de France final, won by Guingamp again (by this time they had been promoted to Ligue 1, but were still the underdogs). Owing to the attention generated by these finals, matches between these two clubs specifically were referred to as Le Celtico at times (this term was copyrighted by the clubs in 2016). Although they had since played in the league several times, the first cup match between the clubs since the 2014 final took place in January 2024.

At least one club from historic Brittany has taken part in the French top flight in every season since 1958–59. Since 1983–84, there have been 18 seasons featuring three Breton teams; an additional eight top division seasons have involved four – 2023–24 Ligue 1 is the 9th (it is Rennes' 67th overall at that level, Nantes' 55th, Brest's 18th and Lorient's 17th, while Guingamp have 13, their most recent being in 2018–19). Owing to the somewhat 'yo-yo' status of all the clubs apart from Rennes since the 2000s, there has yet to be a Ligue 1 campaign featuring all five.

Statistics

Nantes – Rennes

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Lorient – Nantes

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Lorient – Rennes

References

References

1. (12 December 2008). "Rennes-Nantes: le derby breton est de retour". Les dessous du sport.
2. "Nantes - Stade Rennes". Football Derbies.
3. (31 October 2014). "Derby breton ou derby de l'Ouest ?".
4. François Rauzy. (21 August 2021). "Stade Rennais - FC Nantes. Le derby vu de Rennes : l'histoire d'une rivalité".
5. Yann Dey-Helle. (26 February 2023). "Stade Rennais – FC Nantes, une rivalité bretonne".
6. Eric Nedjar. (14 October 2016). "Lorient-Nantes : le derby breton qu'il ne faut pas perdre".
7. [https://www.ligue1.com/articles/match-reports/2023/10/22/lorient-win-breton-derby-against-rennes Touré fires Lorient to Breton derby win over Rennes], Ligue 1, 22 October 2023
8. (16 December 2023). "Les supporters de Lorient interdits de déplacement à Brest pour le derby".
9. Emmanuel Nen / André Mougel. (29 July 2023). "Guingamp-Brest : un derby breton sous tension au Roudourou".
10. Astrid Maigné-Carn. (10 October 2022). "Derby Brest-Lorient : une rencontre sous haute tension".
11. [https://www.ligue1.com/Articles/Match-Reports/2023/05/03/brest-beat-nantes-in-crucial-derby-breton Brest beat Nantes in crucial Derby Breton], Ligue 1, 3 May 2023
12. [https://www.ligue1.com/Articles/News/2023/09/02/brest-and-rennes-face-off-in-breton-derby Brest and Rennes face-off in season's first Breton derby], Ligue 1, 2 September 2023
13. (1 October 2023). "Rennes-Nantes: les Rouge et Noir retrouvent la victoire dans un derby embrasé".
14. [https://rougememoire.com/club/nantes FC Nantes], Rouge Memoire. Retrieved 1 January 2024
15. Emilie Mousnier. (4 November 2022). "Gros plan sur l'histoire entre la Bretagne et Nantes {{!}} Entre la Bretagne et Nantes c'est " je t'aime, moi non plus "".
16. "Football-Club Nantes-Atlantique (France)". Five Star Flags.
17. Régis Delanoë. (29 September 2013). "Tiens, revoilà le derby Rennes – Nantes".
18. (1 May 2009). "Ambiance bretonne au Stade de France". French Football Federation.
19. [https://www.staderennais.com/actualites/equipe-pro/le-celtico-remporte-avec-les-tripes Le Celtico remporté avec les stripes] [Le Celtico won with guts], Stade Rennais FC, 30 September 2016 (in French)
20. (17 September 2016). "Football. Le derby Rennes-Guingamp s'appellera désormais Celtico".
21. (29 December 2023). "Le Roudourou affiche complet pour le celtico, le derby entre Guingamp et Rennes en Coupe de France".