Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard (born 30 September 1968) is a French professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Saudi Arabia.
Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard[1] was born on 30 September 1968 in Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.[2]
Playing career
Renard played as a defender for French clubs Cannes, Stade de Vallauris and Draguignan in a playing career which lasted from 1983 to 1998.[citation needed] After retiring as a professional player, he worked as a cleaner, working there in the morning and training with Draguignan in the evening, eventually starting his own cleaning company.[3][4]
Coaching career
Early years
Renard began his coaching career with Draguignan.[4] He was an assistant at Chinese side Shanghai Cosco with head coach Claude Le Roy from 2002 to 2003,[3] and managed English side Cambridge United in 2004,[5][6] having first joined the club with Le Roy to serve as a coach.[7]
He became manager of Vietnamese club Nam Dinh in 2004, leaving them after several months.[8] He became manager of Cherbourg in 2005, leaving them in 2007.[9] Next, he worked again with Le Roy as an assistant coach for the Ghana national side.[10]
Zambia
In May 2008, Renard was appointed manager of the Zambia national team.[11] At the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, he led Zambia to the quarter final stage of the tournament for the first time in 14 years.[12] Renard left his duties as Zambia manager in April 2010 with only two months remaining on his contract.[13] Two days later, he agreed to become manager of Angola.[14] He resigned from his position as Angola manager in October 2010, and was replaced by Zeca Amaral.[15]
USM Alger
On 21 January 2011, Renard reached an agreement with Algerian club USM Alger to become the head coach of the club.[16]
Second spell with Zambia
On 22 October 2011, it was announced that Renard had returned for a second stint as coach of Zambia on a one-year contract.[17] He led the team to their first victory in the AFCON in 2012. The win was dedicated to the 18 players who perished in April 1993, after a plane carrying the squad crashed just miles from the site of the 2012 final in Gabon.[18]
In May 2012, Chishimba Kambwili, the Zambian sports minister, announced he expected Renard to sign a new contract by the end of the month.[19]
After Zambia were eliminated from the group stages of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Renard said that it was his fault.[20] He later criticised CAF for not allowing Zambia, as the 2012 winners of the AFCON, the chance to compete at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[21]
Renard was released from his contract by the Football Association of Zambia in October 2013, in preparation for a role with French club Sochaux.[22]
Sochaux
On 7 October 2013 it was announced that Renard was appointed as the new manager of French Ligue 1 side Sochaux.[23] In April 2014, he was linked with the Morocco national team job.[24][25]
The club was involved in a relegation fight in May 2014,[26] and after being relegated, he left the club later that month.[27] In July 2014, he was announced to be on the shortlist for the Ivory Coast job.[28]
Renard was appointed as manager of the Ivory Coast national team in July 2014.[29] He was manager at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, and praised the organization of the tournament.[30] He won the competition, becoming the first coach to win two Africa Cup of Nations with different countries.[31]
Lille
Renard became manager of French club Lille in May 2015.[32] On 11 November 2015, he was sacked after getting only 13 points in 13 league games.[33]
In February 2016, Renard was linked with the vacant Morocco national team job.[34] Later that month he was appointed as the new Morocco manager.[35] In October 2016 he was linked with the vacant Algeria national team job.[36]
In November 2017, he qualified Morocco to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, their first since 1998.[37] Later that month, he signed a new contract, until 2022.[38] In July 2019 the Moroccan team was eliminated from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, with Renard taking responsibility for the "shock exit".[39] He resigned a few days later, on 15 July 2019.[40][41]
Saudi Arabia
Later in July 2019 he became manager of Saudi Arabia, the first Frenchman to do so.[42][43] On 10 September 2019, he managed his first official match against Yemen in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[44] In March 2022, Renard led Saudi Arabia to qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in the process became the foreign-born manager with the most wins (18) in the nation's history.[45] In their opening game of the World Cup, he led Saudi Arabia to a 2–1 win over Argentina, one of the pre-tournament favourites, in what was considered one of the biggest shock results in World Cup history.[46] However, Saudi Arabia lost the other two matches against Poland and Mexico, and were eventually eliminated from the group stage.[47] His final game was a friendly, which he lost 1-2 to Bolivia.[48] He was replaced by Roberto Mancini.[49]
France women
In March 2023, Renard was linked with the job as coach of France women's national football team following the dismissal of Corinne Diacre.[50] On 29 March, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation accepted Renard's resignation, in order to begin his tenure as coach of the France women's team.[51] On 30 March, Renard officially became the manager of France's women's national team, succeeding Diacre with a contract lasted until August 2024.[52] He was tasked with preparing the team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup amid player changes and conflicts, particularly with management.[53]
Renard became the first coach to manage teams in two different senior World Cups in the same year,[53] and the second manager to have coached at both the men's and women's World Cups after Englishman John Herdman.[54]
On 29 July 2023, he became the first coach to win a match in both the men's and women's World Cups after France defeated Brazil in the group stage.[55] However, France were eliminated on penalties in the quarter-finals, losing to Australia.[56]
In January 2024, the Ivory Coast men's team attempted to temporarily hire Renard for the delayed 2024 AFCON tournament, which was rejected by the French Football Federation.[57]
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