Beaten by Brazil in the quarter-finals, the French team failed to win its first Olympic medal under the coach.
:quality(50)/2023/07/23/64bcfa33e5011_gabriel-rond.png)
Published
Reading time: 5 min
:quality(50)/2024/08/04/000-369t2t4-66aeb1f2659b8821141277.jpg)
Still not at the level of the world’s elite. Self-proclaimed candidate for the podium of the Games, the French team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of its Olympic tournament, Saturday August 3, after a frustrating defeat against Brazil (0-1) in Nantes. Another disappointment for the Bleues, which marks the end of Hervé Renard’s adventure at the head of the selection. As he had announced on March 20, the coach will leave his position at the end of his contract. While the objective set by the Federation was to finally go for a medal at Paris 2024, his mandate ends in a new failure.
“I came to reach a semi-final and tonight, we didn’t get past that. We have to analyse things soberly: this team did everything. If you want to say it’s a failure, say so… Those are your words, I understand them.he said, moved to tears in the mixed zone after the setback. There were some really great people with me and they are crying tonight. I had everything I needed around me and I didn’t succeed.”
When taking stock of his sixteen months on the French bench, the impression left is that of an eternal return to square one. On the sporting front, there is only one qualification for the Nations League final at the end of February to the credit of the 55-year-old coach. A first in the history of the Bleues in official competition which turned out to be very bitter after the lesson received against Spain in Seville (0-2). For the rest, the exit in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup against Australia (0-0, penultimate draw 6-7) and the ticket secured for Euro 2025 – “a mandatory objective” according to Hervé Renard despite a strong group – did not revolutionize the daily life of this team, which aspired to more in view of its 2nd Fifa rank.
Like Bruno Bini, Philippe Bergeroo, Olivier Echouafni and Corinne Diacre before him, the double African champion came up against the glass ceiling of Les Bleues, eliminated at the gates of the semi-finals as in seven of the last eight competitions. Such a recurrence that can only be explained by management issues. “I did what I knew how to do, without necessarily doing everything well. But it’s up to the players to dig deep into their guts. If you play in the Olympics and you don’t realize that you have an incredible chance… it’s worrying,” Hervé Renard rightly reminded his group, already under pressure from an early exit in the first round.
“I know we disappointed the fans, we disappointed France. Paradoxically, it’s the first time I’ve felt the team so united, so positive. We gave each other good vibes but it didn’t happen today.”regretted Sakina Karchaoui, taking her share of responsibility in this new snub after her missed penalty. The fact remains that the detachment displayed by Hervé Renard since the start of these Games has raised questions about his state of mind, not as conquering as usual. Enough to recall the questions that arose after his wish to go on loan to Côte d’Ivoire to finish the CAN in January. Which had triggered the ire of former players as well as followers of women’s football despite the refusal of the FFF.
The one who initially presented himself as a “Women’s football sales rep” had in reality no longer hidden his desire to return to a men’s selection since last autumn, while regularly saying he was surprised by the emotionality of his players. “I will remember the slightly more flexible management that I had, I adapted. Did I do it well? I don’t know. I certainly made some mistakes. Maybe I didn’t express myself in the best way sometimes. But I really enjoyed this position.”he assured before the Olympics.
Through his unifying, sometimes muscular speeches, the Savoyard nevertheless brought back a more peaceful climate than when he was appointed on March 30, 2023, breaking with several years of friction between his predecessor and the Blues. “From the beginning, the coach has created unity in the team”recalled Delphine Cascarino on Tuesday.
“He’s a leader of men. He always has the right words. We communicate and tell each other things honestly, to have a healthy relationship, that’s the basis. He brought a lot to the group, his experience and his open-mindedness. Today, he has made women’s football progress through his image.”
Sakina Karchaouiat franceinfo: sport early july
The coach’s choice to reintegrate the banished players of the Diacre era, including Eugénie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry, had thus helped to put humanity back into the group upon his arrival. Two elements who ultimately could not fully help the team during these Games, due to glitches and fluctuating form. In the same vein, the identity of the French women has not served. Over the past season, the adopted Cannes player and his staff have built their game by capitalizing on the returns from long-term injuries of key players, such as Griedge Mbock, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Delphine Cascarino.
Thanks to the expertise of goalkeeping coach Gilles Fouache, the team had become masters in the art of set pieces (13 goals out of the 19 scored between the World Cup and the Games) in addition to counting on a solid, if not exciting, defense. Two weapons that have surprisingly disappeared at the start of the Olympic Games. While he will succeed his friend on the bench of the Bleues, as confirmed by Radio France on Sunday, assistant Laurent Bonadéi could nevertheless be tempted to find this style to make it last between now and the Euro in a year. As aborn following Renard’s novel.