Romain Danzé

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…

Shortly after his retirement from professional football, Stade Rennais announced they would retire Danzé's number twenty–nine in honour of his career at the club. Danzé said after announcing his retirement, he announced his intention to earn a coaching badge in hopes of becoming a Manager. Danzé became an assistant manager to Jean-Fabien Peslier for the club's U17 side. Around the same time, he was among several retired footballers to enrol at the university master's training of general manager of professional sports club of the CDES.

In May 2007, Danzé was called up to the France U20 squad for the Toulon Tournament. He made his France U20 debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Ivory Coast on 31 May 2007. Danzé later helped France U20 reach the Toulon tournament final and started in the final, as they won 3–1 against China. In May 2008, Danzé was called up to the France U21 for the first time. However, he withdrew from the squad, due to an injury. Three months later, Danzé was called up to the under-21 side once again. He made his first appearance for the under-21 side, starting the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Slovakia U21 on 20 August 2008. Danzé later made three more matches for the under-21 side.

In February 2013, Danzé was awarded Pro Rennais Sportsman of 2012. Two years later in May 2015, he was awarded Ballon d'eau fraîche after being voted by fans. Growing up, he supported Rennes. Outside of football, Danzé said: "I got into golf and got hooked. I did not think elsewhere. My golf, my computer, and my console. I'm a real geek. To get out, you have to make the effort to adapt." He is good friends with his former teammate, Benoît Costil, even going as far as naming him his personal choice of his starting eleven. It was announced on the club's website that Danzé became a first time father when his wife gave birth to a daughter, Tania, on 31 July 2013. In December 2014, he invested in a restaurant in Lamennais, near Place de la République, in Rennes.