Hervé Renard unveiled, on Friday, the first list of his era at the head of the French women’s team. The press conference that followed delivered some lessons on the ambitions of the former Morocco coach for Les Bleues.
His traditional white shirt was not out for his official debut at the head of the French women’s team. Hervé Renard, inducted coach of the Blue Thursday, unveiled his first list on Friday March 31 before holding a press conference.
Arrived in a difficult context, after the sling of the stars Wendie Renard – with whom he is not related –, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto having resulted in the ousting of former coach Corinne Deacon, he did not evade controversial subjects, true to his reputation. Nor was he afraid to display his ambitions.
1. Bold goals
In just under four months, Hervé Renard and Les Bleues will be in Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup. Despite a very short period of time to take the France group in hand, Hervé Renard shows ambition in hoping to break the glass ceiling of Les Bleues, who have stopped for several editions in the quarter-finals.
“You have to at least reach the last four during the World Cup and during the Olympics”, he notified, not forgetting the Paris Games which will arrive very quickly, less than a year after the world. “I was also politely told ‘If you have the opportunity to win, don’t deprive yourself of it’. I replied that I had come for that.”
“We can achieve great things in football if we are united and have a remarkable state of mind,” warned Hervé Renard, who also praised the quality of the group at his disposal.
2. “What matters is the present and the future”
“What happened before, I was not there, it does not concern me”, very quickly dismissed Hervé Renard. “We can pay tribute to Corinne Deacon, which obtained very good results. But it’s a page that turns, it has to be as positive as possible”.
The double African champion (Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015) proved to bedetermined to write the new history of Les Bleues very quickly and finally blacken the lines of the prize list : “I focus on the present and the future.”
>> To read also: Hervé Renard, football globetrotter, packs his bags at Les Bleues
Vis-à-vis the rebels, these players who caused the departure of Corinne Deacon, Hervé Renard adopted a pragmatic attitude : “The Federation gave me a list of pre-selected players which included all the players, I felt that the Federation gave me the green light.”
3. Returns in shambles
It was one of the biggest questions on Hervé Renard’s list. Would Wendy Renard be in the game, a month after launching the sling against former coach Corinne Deacon and announcing her “withdrawal” ? The answer is yes. The former Morocco coach is counting on the captain of Les Bleues, even if he did not indicate whether he would leave the armband to her.
Absent since April 2021 amid conflict with Corinne Deacon, her teammate at OL, Eugénie Le Sommer, is also part of the first list. The top scorer in the history of the France team – men and women alike – will have the opportunity to improve her record.
“She has incomparable experience. When you win eight Champions Leagues, you have performed at a high level,” praised the coach. “Competition is fierce in Lyon, but [Eugénie Le Sommer] is capable of evolving in other registers and of being a luxury joker over short periods. I find her very intelligent in the game. It was a pleasure to chat with her and I can’t wait to see her in action. As the saying goes, ‘welcome back’.”
Another Lyonnaise returns: Amel Majri (66 caps) finds a France group that she has not attended since September 2021. A serious knee injury and then a period of maternity leave kept her away from Les Bleues.
Like Eugénie Le Sommer, Amel Majri is making her RETURN to the French women’s team. ????????
A nice comeback for the first player of the Blues to have given birth to a child during her career. ???????? pic.twitter.com/FKit63cBMi
— Footballers (@foo_teuses) March 31, 2023
At 29, Léa Le Garrec, midfielder and captain of Fleury, will also have a new chance in selection, more than five years after her last cape.
“The qualities, she has them, but in the France team, This is another thing. She has to show what she can do. I think she has a card to play in this group. I think it’s important to give her a chance, it’s up to her to seize it”, explained Hervé Renard..
4. Listening to the wounded
Proof that all is forgiven for the rebels, Hervé Renard said and repeated that Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and the defender Griedge Mbock, associated with the rebellion movement against Deacon, would have had their place in the list if they were not injured.
The first broke her collarbone in Wolfsburg, during the elimination of Paris SG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The second is recovering from a ruptured right knee ligament and a crack in the meniscus. The third is also recovering from a knee injury.
“I especially called the injured who will not be on the list. It seems important to me to show them that I consider them and to let them know that I am waiting for their return. For those who will be on the list, it is not there’s no need for a phone call. I’ll see them“said Hervé Renard, who hopes they will be back in time for the World Cup.
The coach also keeps the link with Amandine Henry, another banished from the Deacon era, currently on the flank : “I wanted to see how she was doing, her state of mind, even if she is currently injured. I was reassured on this point. She is in the process of returning. She is one of the players likely to be shortlisted for this World Cup.”
5. An essential staff
The new boss of Les Bleues has officially inducted his staff for the upcoming deadlines. He arrived with Laurent Bonadéi and David Ducci, relatives who accompanied him to Saudi Arabia.
To compensate for his inexperience in women’s football, he can count on Éric Blahic, who knows Les Bleues for having been Corinne Deacon’s assistant between January 2020 and June 2021, and Gilles Fouache, coach of the tricolor goalkeepers since 2018, retained for his skills praised by the players. Not a bad thing, the coach having scratched a few names when listing the list even if he prides himself on “following the major competitions” since 2014.
???? Hervé Renard announces an expanded technical staff for the Blue.
???? Laurent Bonadei (assistant)
???? Eric Blahic (assistant)
???? David Ducci (assistant)
???? Gilles Fouache (guardian coach)
???? Thomas Pavilion (physical trainer) + a physical trainer. pic.twitter.com/c8AQpxN6Sq— Footballers (@foo_teuses) March 31, 2023
Thomas Pavillon, who was previously with the France U23 women’s team, will take charge of physical preparation, and will be added an assistant.
“All the staff members are of paramount importance for everything to work as well as possible,” explained Hervé Renard, who notably underlined the enormous contribution of Blahic when composing his first list.
6. Pas de Kheira Hamraoui
“I could make a political response… I wasn’t there, I was in Saudi Arabia, so I didn’t follow the case… But that’s not true, I’m not running away,” said Hervé Renard about the absence of Kheira Hamraoui in the list.
The incredible affair of the aggression of the midfielder in November 2021 continues to leave traces in the locker room of the Blue. Hamraoui has indeed alienated Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, relatives of Aminata Diallo, suspected of having ordered the attack and indicted in this case. If Hervé Renard counts more on Katoto and Diani than Hamraoui, he defends a choice above all “sporting”.
“After, when we form a group, there are plenty of elements to take into consideration…”, he concedes about the thorny affair. “You have to refine your choices and give a list, she is without Kheira today.”