2023-08-12 06:32:05
He is a man who does not back down from any challenge. By appointing Hervé Renard as head of Les Bleues on March 31, just a few months before the World Cup in Australia, the French Football Federation (FFF) was not taking a big risk. “He has this charisma, this leadership to take our national team up another step”, greeted Philippe Diallo during the press conference presenting the successor to Corinne Deacon. Successful bet. The coach managed to hoist the women’s national team into the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup, which is being played this Saturday, August 12 against Australia.
After experiences as mixed as they were ephemeral as a player (at AS Cannes) then coach of elite clubs (at FC Sochaux in 2013-2014, then in Lille the following year), the double winner of the European Cup he African nations with Zambia and the Ivory Coast returned to France through the front door. “I am my way, says the 54-year-old coach. I started from the bottom. I worked (…). I have no revenge to take on anyone. The best part of my career is winning titles. Today there is a possibility. »
A successful career abroad
This football adventurer, who followed in the footsteps of his friend Claude Le Roy, another insatiable globetrotter, has toughened up in sometimes inhospitable circumstances. In each country he has traveled through as assistant or head coach – from Zambia to Côte d’Ivoire, via Angola, Morocco and Saudi Arabia – Hervé Renard will have left an indelible mark.
In Africa, his repeated exploits earned him the nickname of “white wizard” while Saudis still mourn his hasty departure. The prestigious victory of Saudi Arabia, in the group stage of the World Cup, against the Argentina of Lionel Messi, future winner of the event, will remain forever engraved in the memories. History will also remember that this surprise success (2-1) will have been snatched on the lands of the eternal Qatari rival.
“I have had a look at women’s football since 2014”
His notoriety at its highest, he dribbled past everyone by agreeing to take up the challenge proposed by the FFF. “I have had a look at women’s football since 2014. I always said to myself in a little corner of my head: why not? It’s a question of challenge, nothing replaces major competitions. There we are served, he justified when he took office.
In less than six months with the Blues, the Savoyard and his technical staff have managed to restore order in a group stiffened by tensions. As soon as he arrived, he decided on the spot, reassigning the captain’s armband to Wendie Renard and recalling the executive players “resigners” (Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Eugénie Le Sommer, Léa Le Garrec, Amandine Henry), who had engaged in a long-standing and hopeless conflict with Corinne Deacon, her predecessor.
In office for five and a half years, the former coach was to lead Les Bleues to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is Hervé Renard who will be given the mission of seeking the gold medal. A charm that is missing from his list, already copiously stocked.
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