Romain Danzé (born 3 July 1986) is a French former professional footballer who spent his entire career with Ligue 1 club Rennes. He played as a right-back, but could also play as a midfielder or left-back.
Danzé spent his entire career at with Rennes in Ligue 1 and made 377 appearances and scoring ten times in all competitions. Following his retirement, he announced his intention to earn his coaching badges.
Club career Early life and early career
Danzé was born on 3 July 1986 in Douarnenez, Finistère. He grew up in Pouldergat and began his football career when he joined Gourlizon Sports at six years old in October 1992 and his father, Jean-Yves, was working. Danzé quickly excelled at Gourlizon Sports that his performance attracted interests from Rennes, Auxerre, AS Monaco and FC Nantes. Ultimately, he joined Stella Maris Douarnenez at age thirteen. Danzé also trained at PEF Ploufragan, a regional academy located in the Brittany region that trained players similarly to the Clairefontaine academy in the Île-de-France. However, his football career was threatened when he was diagnosed with Osgood–Schlatter disease. But Danzé managed to overcome from his injury.
Danzé arrived at the Rennes Academy in 2001 after they invited to a trial and impressed the side. Although he played as a defender, Danzé began to play in the midfield position. At one point, Danzé was the captain for the reserve side. He initially was a regular fixture for the Rennes reserves playing in the CFA team, but was later plagued with injuries. Despite this, Danzé signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2006.
Rennes
Danzé was involved in the club's first team throughout the summer of 2006 pre–season friendly. He made his Stade Rennais debut on 24 October 2006, starting a match and played 80 minutes as they won 2–0 against Lille OSC in the Round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue. Danzé made his Ligue 1 debut on 4 November 2006, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win against champions Olympique Lyonnais. A month later, in Rennes' final league match on 23 December 2006, he made his first Ligue 1 start for the club in a 0–0 draw with local rivals Lorient. Following this, Danzé received a handful of first team football for the side, playing in the right–back position. He then scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–0 win against Valenciennes on 27 January 2007. After the match, Manager Pierre Dréossi said: "As for Romain Danzé, he is an efficient player who puts in a lot of effort and knows how to seize his chance." For his performance, it was announced on 2 April 2007 that Danzé signed a three–year contract with the club, with an option of extension. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he made twenty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
However, during the club's pre–season, Danzé ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee that kept him out at the start of the 2007–08 season. He made his first appearance of the season on 11 August 2007, starting at right–back in a 0–0 draw against Marseille. But Danzé continued to recover from his anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee for the rest of the year. He returned to the first team in late January 2008 as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw against FC Metz. Danzé spent the next two months on the substitute bench since returning from injury. But he later regained his first team place, playing in the right–back position for the remaining matches of the season. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Danzé made eleven appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Danzé was linked a move away from Stade Rennais, with a possible loan move, but stayed at the club. Danzé played in both legs of the UEFA Intertoto Cup third round against Tavriya Simferopol and helped the side progressing to the next round after they won 10–9 on penalty shoot–out and were among several players to successfully converted in the shoot–out. At the start of the season, Danzé began to rotate in different positions, playing in either the right–back position and right–midfield position. Danzé then played in both legs of the UEFA Cup, as the club were eliminated on a 2–2 draw on aggregate, resulting in their elimination through away goal. His performance at the club led to him signing a contract extension, keeping him until 2012. He scored his first goal of the season and set up the third goal of a 3–0 win against FC Lorient in the Round of 16 of Coupe de France on 4 March 2009. Danzé then scored his second goal of the season in a 1–0 win against Saint-Étienne on 11 April. His third goal of the season came on 29 April in a 3–2 loss against Bordeaux. A week later on 9 May 2009, he started and played 79 minutes in the final of Coupe de France, as the club lost 2–1 against Guingamp. Despite being sidelined on two occasions during the 2008–09 season, Danzé made thirty–seven appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2009–10 season, Danzé found himself appearing from the substitute bench in a number of matches. Instead, Danzé regained his first team place in the starting eleven by playing in the left–back position, a position he did not feel comfortable playing at, preferring to play in the right–back position. At times, Danzé played in the right–back position and once in the right–midfield position. Despite this, he responded to a question on his reflection to the first half of the 2009–10 season, saying: "I have 10 tenures in the league, 17 games played plus one in the League Cup. I am quite satisfied with the playing time. I asked myself some questions at the start of the season but it proves that you have to know how to wait for your turn. As long as I'm playing, I'm happy." He scored his first goal of the season on 23 September 2009 in a 2–1 win against Sochaux in the fourth round of the Coupe de la Ligue. Danzé's second goal of the season came in a 4–0 win against Grenoble Foot 38 on 30 January 2010. He then made his 100th appearance for the Stade Rennais, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute, in a 4–1 win against Toulouse on 20 March 2010. Danzé's third goal of the season came on 10 April 2010, in a 1–1 draw against FC Lorient. At the 2009–10 season, he went on to make nineteen appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Danzé signed a contract with Stade Rennais, keeping him until 2013. It came after when his future at the club was uncertain. At the start of the 2010–11 season, he established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right–back position following the departure of Rod Fanni. Although Danzé played in the right–back position for most of the season, he played in the right–midfield position on two occasions. Danzé helped the side keep three consecutive clean sheets between 14 August 2010 and 28 August 2010. He also helped the side go nine league matches without a loss, resulting in the club placing at the top of the table. He scored his first goal of the season on 4 October 2010 in a 3–1 win against Toulouse. A month later against Lyon on 6 November 2010, Danzé captained the side for the first time and helped them draw 1–1. Danzé, once again, helped the side keep four consecutive clean sheets between 1 December 2010 and 18 December 2010. In a match against AC Arles-Avignon on 15 January 2011, he set up the club's first goal of the game, in a 4–0 win. Despite facing injuries during the 2010–11 season, Danzé played in every league match, as he made forty–one appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Danzé played all four matches of the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Round to reach the knockout stage by beating FC Rustavi and Red Star Belgrade. In the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Play–Off Round, he made his 150th appearance for Stade Rennais, in a 2–1 win. In the opening game of the season against Dijon, Danzé set up the club's fifth goal of the game, in a 5–1 win. He continued to established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right–back position. Around the same time, Danzé has been rotating being placed in the substitute bench, as he found himself compete with Kévin Théophile-Catherine and Dimitri Foulquier over the right–back position. In late–October, Danzé suffered a knee injury that resulted in him missing one match. He returned to the starting line–up, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Valenciennes on 6 November 2011. A month later on 10 December 2011, Danzé scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Stade Brestois 29. Danzé captained the side when he helped the side win 5–4 on penalty shoot–out against OGC Nice in second round of the Coupe de France on 21 January 2012 and were among several players to successfully converted in the shoot–out. His 150th appearance for Stade Rennais came on 24 March 2012, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Valenciennes. Ironically, three days prior on 21 March 2012, the club beat Valenciennes 3–1 to reach the semi–finals of the Coupe de France. Danzé then set up two goals in two matches between 7 April 2012 and 16 April 2012 against Évian and OGC Nice. However, during a 2–0 loss against Bordeaux on 2 May 2012, he suffered a thigh injury and was substituted in the 43rd minute, resulting in him missing two matches. In the last game of the season against Dijon, Danzé returned to the starting line–up and set up the club's fifth goal of a 5–0 win. During the 2011–12 season, he made 44 appearances and scored once in all competitions.
It was announced on 5 July 2012 that Danzé signed a three–year contract with Stade Rennais, keeping him until 2016. He was permanently appointed as the new captain of the club following the departure of Kader Mangane ahead of the 2012–13 season. At the start of the 2012–13 season, Danzé continued to established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right–back position, and retaining his captaincy role. Due to continuous competitions in the right–back position, Danzé rotated in different positions, playing in either the defensive midfield position and right–midfield position. He then made his 200th appearance for the club, coming against Saint-Étienne on 26 October 2012, as they lost 2–0. Shortly after, Danzé suffered an illness that kept him out for one match. He made his return to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 win against Stade de Reims on 3 November 2012. Danzé continued to remain in the first team since returning from injury for the next three months. This lasted until mid–February when he suffered a thigh injury that saw him miss one match. He scored his first goal of the season on 8 March in a 2–2 draw against Saint-Étienne. Danzé appeared in the next six matches before he suffered a hamstring injury. Despite being on the sidelines, he did start in the Coupe de la Ligue Final against Saint-Étienne and played 57 minutes before being substituted, as the club lost 1–0. Following this, Danzé was sidelined with a hamstring injury for the second time. He returned to the starting line–up on 18 May in a 1–1 draw against AC Ajaccio. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he made thirty–seven appearances and scoring once in all competitions.