Expected for several weeks at the head of the French women’s team, Hervé Renard resigned on Tuesday from his post as coach of Saudi Arabia, “determined to return to France to lead a national team there”, according to an internal source. the Saudi Federation.
The Saudi federation “accepted the termination of the contract” of Hervé Renard “at his request”, while he had been under contract since 2019 and until 2027, the Saudi national team officially announced on Twitter, specifying that a “legal agreement has been reached to end the contract between the two parties”.
He had a release clause of around several million euros.
On the FFF side, the Comex will meet on Friday followingnoon to “confirm the choice of the new coach”, said another source familiar with the matter to AFP.
“Hervé Renard has resigned and the Saudi federation has accepted him. The friendly match once morest Bolivia (lost 2-1) tonight is his last as Saudi coach,” an internal source told AFP on Tuesday evening. the Saudi Federation.
At the end of the match, Hervé Renard declared in front of several media: “I think that I did the maximum with the team, I might not reach a higher level, I prefer to be honest with everyone”.
“I wanted to thank everyone in Saudi Arabia for the full support for 4 years,” he added.
“I saw this team grow by my side and achieve a fabulous World Cup” in Qatar, he also wrote on Twitter, recalling the “fantastic and unforgettable victory” of his players once morest Argentina in phase of hens.
Four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the technician should therefore take over from Corinne Deacon, who landed on March 9 once morest the backdrop of an internal revolt led by several executives of the France team.
The French Football Federation had been suspended for several days from negotiations between Renard and the Saudi federation. Time was running out as the announcement of the list of players for the April rally is expected on Thursday or Friday.
“We tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined to return to his country and lead a national team there. We can’t stop him from fulfilling his dream,” the source continued.
He will certainly not be able to claim the same income with the French Federation… His salary at the head of the “Green Falcons” was ten times higher than that of Deacon, according to estimates from the sports press.
– List expected at the end of the week –
The former defender, double winner of the African Cup of Nations, should therefore be preferred to several candidates including Jocelyn Gourvennec, auditioned by a commission appointed in recent days within the FFF to carry out the recruitment process, but who then declined the offer.
Renowned in men’s football, where multiple international experiences (Zambia, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia) have enriched his CV… Hervé Renard has no experience at the head of a women’s team.
While there are only four preparation matches left – once morest Colombia on April 7, Canada on April 11, Ireland on July 6 and Australia on July 14 – before the Blues enter the World Cup on July 23 in Sydney once morest Jamaica, Hervé Renard, if he is appointed coach, will have to get in tune with a world he knows little regarding.
The 9th coach in the history of Les Bleues might be helped for this mission by a staff more rehearsed than him in women’s football, a precious asset both in physical preparation and in the study of opponents.
The name of Eric Blahic, former assistant to Deacon appreciated by several players, has come up insistently in the debates of the last few days.
If he is appointed, Renard’s priority, before the announcement of the list expected at the end of the week for the next two friendly matches, will be to convince the rebels to return to the selection.
Captain Wendie Renard and attackers Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani had clearly announced their withdrawal from Les Bleues, conditioning their return to “profound changes” in “management”.
He might also choose to recall Lyon striker Eugénie Le Sommer or PSG goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, long dismissed by Corinne Deacon.
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