Hervé Renard is already one of the faces of this World Cup after Saudi Arabia’s incredible victory against Argentina. The video of his talk was broadcast by the Federation.
[Mis à jour le 25 novembre 2022 à 10h28] A chat can galvanize an entire team. After Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina, Hervé Renard explained at a press conference that he had shouted at half-time, unhappy with the performance of his players. It must be said that if Argentina only leads 1-0, it is a small miracle because the Argentines could have led 4-0 without the three goals disallowed by the VAR. Two days after the triumph of the Saudis, the Federation posted a behind-the-scenes video of the meeting in which we can attend this chat.
“What are we doing here, gets angry Hervé Renard, his speech being translated by a member of staff. Saleh (Al-Sheri) is it pressing? Pressing does not mean that you have to play high!” And the coach continues, still furious: “Messi, he has the ball in midfield and you stay in front of the defense! Take your phones and take pictures with him if you want! With the ball, you were good. You Did you see what you did? You don’t feel anything? You don’t feel we can come back? You don’t feel it? They (Argentinians) are playing relaxed! Come on guys, it’s the Cup of the world! Give it your all!”. The extract is visible from 6 min 20 below.
Hervé Renard is no stranger to major international competitions. The former defender went through AS Cannes without having had a great career as a player (a match in the First Division at the end of the 80s) but has accumulated a good track record on the bench where he did not hesitate to roam around around the world, especially in Africa. Vietnam, England, French semi-professional divisions, Algeria… Hervé Renard is a football globetrotter as far as the clubs trained are concerned, but it was as a national coach that he really made a name for himself.
The architect of Zambia’s surprise, executioner then hero of Côte d’Ivoire
His career obviously remains associated with Zambia, an outsider country on the African continent which he first led to the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, the CAN, in 2010 before finding them in 2012 and lead them to the final of this same competition. There, facing the huge Ivorian favorites strong in an armada with Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Kolo Touré or Gervinho, “his” Zambia achieves the feat and wins on penalties to create one of the biggest surprises of the history of African football. After his failure at Sochaux, Hervé Renard then trained… Côte d’Ivoire, which he again led to victory at CAN 2015.
His second return to France, in Lille, will be synonymous with a second fiasco with a premature dismissal in 2015. Before taking the reins of Saudi Arabia in 2019, Hervé Renard had already participated in a final phase of the World Cup, at the head of Morocco at the 2018 World Cup, a course ended in the first round with only one point in three games (a draw against Spain after two defeats against Iran and Portugal). His debut with Saudi Arabia has already been crowned with success and suggests a possible and surprising qualification for the round of 16. It would be a first since the 1994 edition, where the Saudis had reached the round of 16, eliminated by Sweden after notably surprising Belgium in the group stage.