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Meet Herve Renard, Saudi Arabia’s coach who made Messi ‘cry’

Herve Renard coaching career. Photo by Euronews
  • Herve Renard was born in France
  • He retired from professional football and took up a cleaning job in France
  • He later opened a cleaning company and a necklace of clubs in Europe

Herve Renard coaching career is nothing short of astounding. He is one man whose fame comes with strides, especially after his team, Saudi Arabia, surprised Argentina.

The former Cambridge United manager is leading Saudi’s Green Falcons. He will play Mexico and Poland in Group D and want to improve on their World Cup performance.

Even though they appear to be in a challenging group, Renard’s hiring as their coach in July 2019 has given them new hope going into the tournament. He has extensive international experience, having coached Morocco to victory in the 2018 Russia World Cup four years ago.

He twice took home the Africa Cup of Nations trophy with different nations.

WHICH TEAM DOES HERVE RENARD COACH?

Herve Renard coaching career

Herve Renard, Saudi Arabian Coach. Photo by REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Herve Renard coaching career took him to the Middle East, where he’s coaching Saudi’s national team, The Green Falcons. He orchestrated Saudi Arabia’s unexpected victory over Argentina in the FIFA World Cup comeback.

His football career as a coach saw him weather many storms with different teams. He was fired as manager of League Two Cambridge in 2004 but later rebounded in 2012.

Renard led Zambia to its first victory in the African Cup of Nations. The coach would then lead Ivory Coast to win the African Cup of Nations in 2015. But it is his stint with Morocco that he started rewriting history. Morocco went for their first World Cup in 20 years in 2018.

Some quarters have the talk in town that he allegedly goes to the Congo Forest to seek ‘magical powers’ from people like Ngalamulume Nyebo. Nevertheless, this is idle talk that doesn’t take him off his game.

WHERE IS HERVE RENARD NOW?

Renard is with the Saudi Arabia national football team Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur popularly known as The Green Falcons. The name references the team’s traditional colours of green and white.

Herve Renard coaching career with Saudi is now at the highest point where he is steering a whole team in a mega FIFA event. Besides this, he is a popular figure in Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

HOW OLD IS HERVE RENARD?

He is 54 years old. Renard is of French origin and hails from Aix-les-Bains. His active footballing life had a successful 15-year playing career in France. The legendary coach played for SC Draguignan, Cannes, and Stade de Vallauris.

Herve Renard coaching career has come a long way, having worked as a cleaner at Draguignan after his professional retirement. It was hard for him, but he enjoyed it so much that he subsequently started his own cleaning company.

Before making a comeback to football, he threw his wit into different businesses besides running the cleaning company. Renard ran a few clubs in Europe and Asia before being landing a coaching job in Zambia.

With his success, Angola poached the French coach, but he resigned after only seven months in command. He took them to the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 14 years.

He went back to Zambia in 2011 and guided the country to its first-ever AFCON victory in 2012. He was subsequently eliminated in the group stage a year later and released in October 2013 in order to take a job with the French club Sochaux.

After a brief stint with Sochaux, Renard resigned when they were demoted in April 2014. In May of the same year, he was named manager of the Ivory Coast. Renard won the AFCON with the Ivory Coast in 2015, making him the first manager to do so with two different countries.

Herve Renard coaching Career. Photo by REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

WHO IS THE COACH OF SAUDI ARABIA SOCCER TEAM?

Herve Renard is the coach of The Green Falcons where he exudes a unique managerial style. Renard’s early attempts into management occurred in some very obscure locations.

It is in contrast to the towering heights of the World Cup that he is currently experiencing. John Ruddy, the former Cambridge goalkeeper, is all praises for the French coach.

Ruddy told The Daily Mail that Herve Renard coaching career brought out his good man-manager side. He was always at the Gym working out and supporting other team players.

Herve’s work ethic, which he not only expected of us but actually demonstrated in the gym, remains his strongest recollections of him. The hardest preseason he ever had was under him.

Renard, who also coached Jermaine Easter, was credited with being a pioneer in sports science by outlawing common meals like ketchup and mayonnaise.

Teresa is a journalist with years of experience in creating web content. She is a wanderlust at heart, but an outgoing sports writer with focus on tennis, athletics, football, motorsports and NBA.

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