Denis Renaud (born 20 September 1974) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Following a modest playing career, he took up his first managerial position at the age of 22. After a brief spell at

Vertou Vertou (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest ...

, Renaud spent 12 seasons at

Carquefou Carquefou (; Gallo: ''Carqefou'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique, department in the region Pays de la Loire, in western France. Population Economy The headquarters of the geophysical research company Sercel is located in Carquefou ...

, leading the team to three promotions during his reign. His first taste of professional football management came in 2015 when he was appointed manager of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Playing career

Renaud came through the youth system at his hometown club,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, but never broke into the senior team. After playing several games for the reserve side during the 1990–91 season, he transferred to

Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 ...

(CFA) club

Cholet Cholet (, probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France, in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture, Angers. ...

in the summer of 1991. He stayed there for just one season before joining

, where he played for two seasons before retiring from playing in 1994 to take up studies in physical education.

Managerial career

After almost becoming a teacher, Renaud began his managerial career at the age of 22 when he joined French lower-league club La Haye-Fouassière. In 2001, he returned to his former club Vertou as manager, but left after one season to join

. While at Carquefou he guided the team to promotion to the CFA twice, in 2004 and again in 2009. In 2008 the team reached the quarter-finals of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

, beating established sides including

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

before being knocked out by

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. A highly successful 2011–12 season in which the team amassed 105 points saw the club promoted to the

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

, the third tier of French football, for the first time in their history. Carquefou spent two seasons in the division before being demoted to the regional leagues after experiencing financial difficulties, signalling the end of Renaud's reign. On 5 June 2015, Renaud was appointed manager of newly promoted

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

side

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

, replacing

Christophe Taine Christophe Taine (born 12 December 1973) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Championnat National 2 club FC 93. As a player, he was an attacking midfielder. Managerial career Formerly, Taine h ...

. Under his guidance, the team won only one of their first sixteen games of the season, a 3–0 home victory against

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

. On 28 November 2015, Renaud was dismissed from his post and replaced by Jean-Luc Vasseur. After spending several months without a job, it was announced on 9 May 2016 that Renaud would take up the position of head coach at

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (; often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) are a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwest ...

following the departure of Régis Brouard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaud, Denis 1974 births Living people Footballers from Nantes Men's association football defenders French men's footballers SO Cholet players USSA Vertou players French football managers USSA Vertou managers USJA Carquefou managers Paris FC managers Chamois Niortais FC managers