Before being entrusted with the position of coach of the French women’s team on Thursday, Hervé Renard led six national men’s teams.
He is the one who launched the coaching career of Hervé Renard. Claude Le Roy, nicknamed “the white wizard” thanks to his good results with various African selections, worked for a long time with the new coach of the French women’s team, making him his deputy to the Guizhou Renhe (China) in 2001, then in Cambridge (English D4) in 2004, and in the Ghanaian selection, in 2007-2008. Hervé Renard then took off, becoming head coach, with two African Cups of Nations won with Zambia in 2012, and Côte d’Ivoire in 2015, but did not experience the same success at the head of Sochaux and Lille, France. His mentor is delighted to see him now named coach of the French women’s team, Thursday, March 30.
Franceinfo:sport: Being coach of the French women’s team, is it a challenge worthy of the character?
Claude LeRoy: Yes completely, I believe that it corresponds completely to his character, to his passions, to his desires. A France team is no small thing for Hervé, even if it were feminine for the sad souls who have the impression that women’s football remains light years away from men’s football, this is no longer the case. And I’m sure that a World Cup as coach of a women’s team, after having participated in two World Cups as coach of men’s teams, and then especially the Olympic Games, is a kid’s dream for him. The World Cup is perhaps a little too early, he will have little time even if he is effective in obtaining results.
He leaves Saudi Arabia to take up the challenge of the France team, what guides him in this choice?
He told me, there is not the slightest disrespect towards Saudi Arabia. He stayed there for four years and he put together a super team that was complicated to play, from which he got the most out of. He no longer had the impression that there was a huge margin for improvement, and from there, his salary, which was huge, was no longer necessarily in line with what he could bring to this country. And Hervé is someone who has a true sense of values. The challenge of a French team attracted him and he will find himself with his promotion buddy since he played with Didier Deschamps in the French junior team and they both lead a French team now.
He won abroad, but not in France. Showing what he is capable of in France, is that something close to his heart?
There is a bad trial that was made to Hervé. At Sochaux he missed a real feat by very little (maintenance in Ligue 1, in 2013-2014), by accumulating good performances, and with Lille I think there was a difference in perception with the president who hired him. Maybe he reduced it to a white shirt and didn’t know him well enough when he hired him. I think that Michel Seydoux very quickly made a judgment of values that in no way corresponds to the man. He is someone of great depth, and I think that this failed marriage is the fault of the leaders of Lille. I’m sure Hervé could have done a great job with Losc.
What does the France team represent for him?
The France team, the Marseillaise, is not nothing for Hervé Renard. He is truly attached to his country and follows all the competitions except perhaps curling for which he is not really passionate. Everything he could follow, he always followed, with an intense patriotic fiber. I’m sure that during the first match he will play at the head of Les Bleues, there will be great emotion at home at the time of the Marseillaise.
What will he bring to this team, in a difficult context?
His rigor, his competence, his choices. He will not be afraid to make choices. Even if Corinne Deacon has done a very good job, with great talents in France, it should not be forgotten. To train, to be a coach, is not to please everyone. But as he is very honest, there will never be any surprises for the players. In a large group, it is above all necessary to take care of the substitutes, to spend time with them to explain to them why they are not playing, and that he knows how to do. He is not revengeful, he was very marked by the end of his career with Lille. He is a rather shy person contrary to what one might think, and of immense sensitivity. He will want to show that we were a little mistaken about him. Its management is tough at times, but it will be able to adapt.
Do you see him taking this France team very high? Towards a title?
I hope so, but I believe there is even better at international level. The Americans are still there, there are high quality teams in Northern Europe, the Spaniards are progressing, the English too… We mustn’t want to go too fast. The World Cup is coming very quickly but will greatly enrich him in view of the Olympic Games, and as we will be at home, I think he absolutely must bring back a medal.