Herve Renard defied the chances and pushed the boundaries of the SAFF’s rules, proving that exceptions to the rule do exist.
His boldness and audacity to interrupt and bend the principles for his personal profit has finally been rewarded, leaving his title etched into the annals of historical past as an unparalleled exception to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
Little greater than 4 months after overseeing presumably the best upset in World Cup historical past, the 54-year-old is packing his baggage and heading house to information France at this yr’s Women’s World Cup.
The spotlight of his spell in cost was undoubtedly that heady evening in Qatar final November when the Saudis surprised eventual winners Argentina 2-1 of their opening match on the first World Cup held within the Arab world.
What adopted after the euphoria of that victory was extra acquainted fare for Saudi soccer followers, nonetheless, losses to Poland and Mexico and departure from the event within the group stage.
Remarkably, although, the Saudi federation didn’t instantly fireplace the Frenchman.
Coaches have by no means loved a lot job safety in Saudi Arabia and the SAFF has been recognized to exchange them even within the midst of a event.
Renard took over Saudi Arabia in July 2019, and if he had seen out his contract in 2027 he would have been the longest serving nationwide workforce coach within the nation’s historical past.
As it’s, he loved the longest spell of the handfuls of coaches who’ve taken cost of the Green Falcons since Egyptian Abdul-Rahman Fawzi within the Fifties and early Nineteen Sixties.
Immortal match
His departure, when it got here on Tuesday, was amicable. An method by the French Football Federation to the Saudis, a authorized settlement over his contract, and even a farewell video to followers on the SAFF Twitter account.
“We achieved great success in the qualifiers, we topped the group ahead of Japan and Australia, and we qualified for the World Cup,” Renard mentioned.
“We had a great experience, and the Argentina match will remain immortal in the minds of the Saudi fans.”
There had been messages from Saudis to Renard too.
“Our coach and teacher, Herve Renard,” Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored the profitable objective towards Argentina, posted on Twitter.
“Thank you for every moment you spent with us, thanks for every effort you made for us, and thanks for everything you gave us.”
The former Morocco, Zambia and Ivory Coast coach took Saudi Arabia from 68th within the FIFA rankings to inside the highest 50 at forty ninth.
SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal mentioned there was no hurry to exchange Renard with no matches scheduled till at the very least September, when the workforce will begin its preparations for the brand new World Cup qualifying marketing campaign and subsequent yr’s Asian Cup.
“We won’t choose the successor until June,” he mentioned. “The Saudi national team is an ambitious and great team and we will certainly be coveted by many distinguished coaches.”
Renard will now flip his thoughts to teaching ladies for the primary time however he made it clear he wouldn’t overlook his time in Saudi Arabia. “I wish you success in the 2024 Asian Cup in Qatar. I will support you, and certainly if I could be present in the stands, I would be a fan of the Saudi national team,” he mentioned in his farewell video.
“You will always remain in my heart.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
