Bocanegra to St. Etienne

For those who missed it earlier this afternoon, Carlos Bocanegra was transferred from Stade Rennes to fellow Ligue 1 side St. Etienne in a deal reportedly worth about 500,000 euros.

The move ends a pretty solid two year stint at Rennes for Boca, who made 64 appearances and scored twice for Les Rouges et Noirs.  His biggest moment in a Rennes uniform was the 2009 Coupe de France final, when he scored the opening goal of the match in what ultimately ended up being a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Ligue 2 side Guingamp.  This past season was more up and down for the former Chicago Fire star, with injuries and competition keeping him on the bench for a couple of extended stretches.  He managed to return to the starting XI for the final weeks of the season, but not before first giving USMNT fans a couple of gray hairs due to his lack of playing time.

This move doesn't come as a big surprise; as I mentioned yesterday, St. Etienne were keen on bringing Boca in during the winter window.  When healthy, he should be a regular fixture in the starting lineup, so expect pretty consistent minutes in the upcoming season. 

Though Bocanegra's situation might be fairly stable, he joins a club that has had a fairly tumultuous couple of seasons in terms of results.  After a 5th place finish in 2008, St. Etienne finished in 17th place each of the last two seasons, escaping relegation by 3 points in '09 and 8 points last season. 

Looking ahead to St. Etienne's schedule, USMNT fans are in luck: their second match of the season is against Sochaux, which could mean a duel between Bocanegra and Charlie Davies.  That game, which will also likely be Bocanegra's home debut, is on August 14th, a week after St. Etienne's season opener against Paris Saint-Germain.