2022-11-22
Prior to the game between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, the spotlight was on Lionel Messi and the South American team, which had gone 36 games without losing. However, the coach of Saudi Arabia, Hervé Renard, broke the unbeatable pattern of the Argentines.
Hervé Renard is a Frenchman who was never able to take off his career as a footballer, having only played one match in the French First Division. By 1998, he retired from soccer and started coaching, although his life took him down different unexpected paths.
A discreet footballer, an exceptional coach
Renard was a discreet footballer who came to meet Zinedine Zidane at Cannes, an experience that marked him decisively because, in his words, comparing himself to ‘Zizou’ made him realize that he was worthless as a footballer. He sought his fortune off the field and ended up on a garbage truck, getting up at three in the morning. He also worked cleaning buildings before returning to football, this time from the bench.
As a club manager he left no mark during his time at Sochaux and Lille, but as a coach his work has been exceptional. Known in Africa as the ‘White Magician’, he was the first to win two African Cups with two different teams, Zambia and the Ivory Coast. And with Morocco he qualified for a World Cup twenty years later. In 2019 he joined the Saudi national team, which he has also led to Qatar.
The Coach Who Collected Trash
The current Saudi Arabia coach worked as a garbage collector and cleaner for eight years, while playing in France’s regional leagues.
“I often remember those years when I got up at 3 in the morning to go clean buildings. It helps me keep all of this in perspective,” the strategist said in an interview with Archyde.com.
After this unexpected step, his career as a coach began in 1999 when he led SC Draguignan, after Claude Le Roy, an African soccer benchmark, decided to add him to his team with Shanghai in China.
Renard’s Records
First coach to win two African Cup titles with two different teams.
He led Morocco to its first World Cup after a 22-year absence.
Vence to Argentina with Saudi Arabia.