Hervé Renard

Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard (born 30 September 1968) is a French professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Saudi Arabia.

Renard has previously been the manager of Zambia national team, with whom he won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations; he also won the competition in 2015 with the Ivory Coast, becoming the first coach to win two Africa Cup of Nations with different teams. In addition, he coached Morocco at the 2018 World Cup. From 2019 to 2023, he was the manager of Saudi Arabia before he became manager of the France women's team ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. In October 2024, he returned to Saudi Arabia for the second time.

Early life

Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard was born on 30 September 1968 in Aix-les-Bains, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. His maternal grandparents were from Poland.

Playing career

Renard played as a defender for French clubs Cannes, 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 SC 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 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 in 2005, leaving them in 2007. Next, he worked again with Le Roy as an assistant coach for the Ghana national side.