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 ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie.defender for French clubs

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, Stade de Vallauris and Draguignan in a playing career which lasted from 1983 to 1998. After retiring as a professional player, he worked as a cleaner, working there in the morning and training with Draguignan in the evening, eventually starting his own cleaning company.

Coaching career

Early years

Renard began his coaching career with Draguignan. He was an assistant at Chinese side Shanghai Cosco with head coach Claude Le Roy from 2002 to 2003, and managed English side

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in 2004, having first joined the club with Le Roy to serve as a coach. He became manager of Vietnamese club Nam Dinh in 2004, leaving them after several months. He became manager of

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

in 2005, leaving them in 2007. Next, he worked again with Le Roy as an assistant coach for the Ghana national side.

Zambia

In May 2008, Renard was appointed manager of the Zambia national team. At the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

, he led Zambia to the quarter final stage of the tournament for the first time in 14 years. Renard left his duties as Zambia manager in April 2010 with only two months remaining on his contract. Two days later, he agreed to become manager of

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. He resigned from his position as Angola manager in October 2010, and was replaced by Zeca Amaral.

USM Alger

On 21 January 2011, Renard reached an agreement with Algerian club

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger (); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a Association football, football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its colours are red and black. Their home sta ...

to become the head coach of the club.

Second spell with Zambia

On 22 October 2011, it was announced that Renard had returned for a second stint as coach of Zambia on a one-year contract. He led the team to their first victory in the AFCON in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. The win was dedicated to the 18 players who perished in April 1993, after a plane carrying the squad crashed just miles from the site of the 2012 final in Gabon. In May 2012, Chishimba Kambwili, the Zambian sports minister, announced he expected Renard to sign a new contract by the end of the month. After Zambia were eliminated from the group stages of the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

, Renard said that it was his fault. He later criticised CAF for not allowing Zambia, as the 2012 winners of the AFCON, the chance to compete at the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

. Renard was released from his contract by the Football Association of Zambia in October 2013, in preparation for a role with French club Sochaux.

Sochaux

On 7 October 2013 it was announced that Renard was appointed as the new manager of French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side Sochaux. In April 2014, he was linked with the Morocco national team job. The club was involved in a relegation fight in May 2014, and after being relegated, he left the club later that month. In July 2014, he was announced to be on the shortlist for the Ivory Coast job.

Ivory Coast

Renard was appointed as manager of the Ivory Coast national team in July 2014. He was manager at the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

, and praised the organization of the tournament. He won the competition, becoming the first coach to win two Africa Cup of Nations with different countries.

Lille

Renard became manager of French club

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

in May 2015. On 11 November 2015, he was sacked after getting only 13 points in 13 league games.

Morocco

In February 2016, Renard was linked with the vacant Morocco national team job. Later that month he was appointed as the new Morocco manager. In October 2016 he was linked with the vacant Algeria national team job. In November 2017, he qualified Morocco to the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia, their first since 1998. Later that month, he signed a new contract, until 2022. In July 2019 the Moroccan team was eliminated from the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

, with Renard taking responsibility for the "shock exit". He resigned a few days later, on 15 July 2019.

Saudi Arabia

Later in July 2019 he became manager of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the first Frenchman to do so. On 10 September 2019, he managed his first official match against

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

in the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

. In March 2022, Renard led Saudi Arabia to qualification for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, and in the process became the foreign-born manager with the most wins (18) in the nation's history. In their opening game of the World Cup, he led Saudi Arabia to a 2–1 win over

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, one of the pre-tournament favourites, in what was considered one of the biggest shock results in World Cup history. However, Saudi Arabia lost the other two matches against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and were eventually eliminated from the group stage. His final game was a friendly, which he lost 1-2 to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. He was replaced by

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for h ...

.

France women

In March 2023, Renard was linked with the job as coach of

France women's national football team The France women's national football team () represents France in international Women's association football, women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation (FFF). France competes as a member of UEFA in various interna ...

following the dismissal of

Corinne Diacre Corinne Catherine Diacre (born 4 August 1974) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. She played her entire club career with Soyaux in the Division 1. She was also an international player with the ...

. On 29 March, the

Saudi Arabian Football Federation The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF; ) is the association football, football Sport governing body, governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, It's responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The ...

accepted Renard's resignation, in order to begin his tenure as coach of the France women's team. On 30 March, Renard officially became the manager of France's women's national team, succeeding Diacre with a contract lasted until August 2024. He was tasked with preparing the team for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

amid player changes and conflicts, particularly with management. Renard became the first coach to manage teams in two different senior World Cups in the same year, and the second manager to have coached at both the men's and women's World Cups after Englishman

John Herdman John Herdman (born 19 July 1975) is an English professional football manager widely recognized for his contributions to Canadian soccer. He is the only coach to have led both a women’s and men’s national team from the same country to a FIF ...

. On 29 July 2023, he became the first coach to win a match in both the men's and women's World Cups after France defeated

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the group stage. However, France were eliminated on penalties in the quarter-finals, losing to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In January 2024, the Ivory Coast men's team attempted to temporarily hire Renard for the delayed 2024 AFCON tournament, which was rejected by the French Football Federation. It was announced that Renard would leave his role after the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, being succeeded by assistant Laurent Bonadei.

Return to Saudi Arabia

On 26 October 2024, Renard was reappointed as head coach of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, after the sacking of

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for h ...

during the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

.

Managerial statistics

Personal life

Renard is in a relationship with Viviane Dièye, the widow of coach

Bruno Metsu Bruno Jean Cornil Metsu (28 January 1954 – 15 October 2013) was a French footballer and football manager. During his senior playing career from 1973 to 1987, he played for seven different clubs in France. From 1988 until his death, he was the ...

. His maternal grandparents were from Poland.

Honours

As a manager

Zambia *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

*

COSAFA Cup The COSAFA Cup (known fully as COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup) is an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organized by Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), inaugurated after the ban against the Republic of Sout ...

:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Ivory Coast *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual * CAF Coach of the Year: 2012, 2015, 2018

References

External links

Early life

Coaching career

Early years

Zambia

USM Alger

Second spell with Zambia

Sochaux

Ivory Coast

Lille

Morocco

Saudi Arabia

France women

Return to Saudi Arabia

Managerial statistics

Personal life

Honours

As a manager

References

External links