An unexpected event happened when Saudi Arabia beat the champions Argentina. In the background, there is coach Herve Renard, a French coach who coached Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, led by coach Renard, won 2-1 from behind Argentina in the first leg of Group C of the Qatar 2022 World Cup group stage held at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the 22nd (Korea time ).
Saudi Arabia, who used a quick counterattack based on a strong defense, caught a big fish from the first game. After this game, which was considered the biggest surprise at the beginning of the tournament, attention is focused on coach Renard, who led Saudi Arabia.
Renard, who was born in France in 1968, played as a defender during his active career. After retiring in 1998, he started his first coaching career with Draguignan, France, the last team he played for as a player. Since then, he has played for professional teams such as Cambridge United (England), Nam Dinh FC (Vietnam), AS Cannes (France), Chevre Football (France), USM Algiers (Algeria), Sochaux-Montbeliard (France), and Lille OSC (France). I led, but the results were not good.
Africa became a land of opportunity for him. Renard was appointed coach of the Zambia national football team in 2008 and led them to victory in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. After Angola in 2010 and Côte d’Ivoire in 2014, Renard won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations again.
Renard’s African journey continued. He was appointed coach of the Moroccan national team in 2016 and led the team to progress to the World Cup finals for the first time in 20 years following the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals. However, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they were included in a group with Spain, Portugal and Iran, and failed to advance to the round of 16 with 1 draw and 2 losses.
Renard, who received love calls from Korea and Egypt after the World Cup in Russia, signed a new contract with Morocco due to penalties, but was kicked out after losing to weak Benin in the round of 16 at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Then, Saudi Arabia, suffering from a World Cup slump, quickly recruited him. On July 30, 2019, Saudi Arabia appointed Renard as its head coach. Saudi Arabia, who advanced to the Qatar World Cup finals, expressed satisfaction and handed him a five-year contract renewal in May this year.
Saudi Arabia’s love for Renard is expected to grow even more as they defeat Argentina in the first match of this World Cup.
[서울=뉴시스]
