Hervé Renard, a ‘football globetrotter’, will manage the France women’s team

First modification: 03/31/2023 – 04:22

It was an open secret since he announced his departure from Saudi Arabia. Hervé Renard was officially inducted as the ninth manager in the history of Les Bleues on Thursday, March 30.

As head of the French women’s soccer team, he succeeds Corinne Diacre, dismissed after a revolt by several players, she will have the heavy task of leading her team to a first title.

While the names of several prestigious women’s soccer coaches (Gérard Prêcheur, Sonia Bompastor, Sandrine Soubeyrand) floated around, the French Football Federation (FFF) finally opted for a charismatic coach, albeit with no experience with women’s teams.

“We have the opportunity to play the World Cup in five months. The following year there will be the Olympic Games in France and maybe the women’s Euro Cup again the following year. An extraordinary cycle is coming and I think we have to be very, very ambitious. So we have to change habits, think outside the box and give us the means to achieve this World Cup in Australia and New Zealand”, argued Jean-Michel Aulas, a member of the Comex to defend the arrival of Hervé Renard in a recent interview.

soccer globetrotter

As a player, Hervé Renard never reached the highest level. This professional defender even played only one Ligue 1 (at the time Division 1) game. When he hung up his boots, he set up a villa-cleaning business on the Côte d’Azur and began coaching the modest amateur club of Draguignan, where he finished his career.

It was the meeting with Claude Le Roy that changed his destiny. The legendary “white magician” offered her to become his “number two” in China in the Guizhou Renhe.

Hervé Renard passed his coaching diplomas, went through Vietnam and then reunited with his mentor when the latter settled in Cambridge.

In 2008, Claude Le Roy introduced it to Africa: the duo led Ghana to the third step of the podium at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).

It was on this continent that he made his reputation: with Zambia, he made history. In his first stage (2008-2010), he took them to the quarterfinals. During his second term (2011-2013), he allowed the southern African country to win the first CAN in its history.

Three years later, he did it again with the Ivory Coast in the same tournament. In addition, he qualified his next team, Morocco, for the 2018 World Cup.

Even so, for the moment, Hervé Renard has never been a prophet in his country. His last two stages in France did not have a happy ending: his year at Sochaux (2013-2014) ended in relegation and he was fired after six months at Lille (2015) with a meager record of two victories.

A tireless worker and a great leader.

Gaël Mahé, a FIFA agent who met Renard when he was Le Roy’s assistant in Ghana (2007-2008), describes the coach as “a radiant and charismatic personality”. He sees him as “a hard-working coach, who has now become the most iconic French coach abroad.”

Renard is also an undisputed leader. His last feat at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar demonstrated it. As his team, Saudi Arabia, trailed 1-0 against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, he led a pep talk at halftime.

“Guys, what are we doing here?” Is that pressing? Pressure doesn’t mean you have to play high!”, he told his footballers.

“With the ball, they were fine. Did you see what they did? Don’t you feel anything?” he asked them. Back on the field, his men ended up defeating the future world champions. Renard’s speech put the signature to the first surprise of the World Cup.

An experienced assistant, your great support

But time is short for Renard: There are only four warm-up games left — against Colombia on April 7, Canada on April 11, Ireland on July 6 and Australia on July 14 — before the World Cup debut of Les Bleues. They will meet on July 23 in Sydney against Jamaica. Therefore, Renard will have to come to terms with a world he knows little about.

The ninth manager in the history of Les Bleues could count on the help of a squad more experienced than him in the world of women’s football. Eric Blahic, one time mentioned to become a trainer, could fill the role of physical trainer.

Renard’s priority, given the announcement of the squad for the next two friendly matches, will be to convince the detractors to return to the national team.

The captain Wendie Renard – without any ties to the coach with whom she shares the last name – and the attackers Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani had clearly announced their withdrawal from Les Bleues, conditioning their return to “profound changes” in the “management”. He could also choose to call up Lyon striker Eugénie Le Sommer or PSG goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, long ousted by Diacre.

The coach will have a lot of work on the table. “It’s time for me to fly to a new horizon,” he wrote on Twitter to announce his departure from the Saudi national team.

This article was adapted from its original in French.