Renard a Bafana surprise?
HERVE Renard has refused to rule himself out of the Bafana Bafana coaching job, but gave a hint he remains committed to Morocco after their Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal defeat to Egypt here on Sunday.
Renard, who has been linked with a return to Southern Africa following the sacking of Shakes Mashaba, stated it was improper to speak about “such matters” when he had just finished a Nations Cup campaign with Morocco, whom he led to a first quarterfinal berth at the tournament in over a decade.
“This moment is to talk about our game [against Egypt],” Renard, dressed in his trademark white shirt, replied when asked a direct question about whether he would consider joining Bafana. “I think we need to be respectful to the Morocco football federation and not talk about such matters so soon after the game. I’m so proud of my team and they can only grow from here.”
The fact that Renard – who led Zambia to Nations Cup glory in 2012 and did the same with Ivory Coast in 2015 – did not off hand dismiss the rumours linking him to SA suggests he could be open to discussing an offer, should it officially come.
But he was delighted to see his team hold Egypt right up to the last few minutes of Sunday’s quarterfinal, where Mahmoud Kahraba’s bundled goal was the difference as the Pharaohs booked a semifinal spot against Burkina Faso tomorrow in Libreville (9pm, live on SuperSport 4).
“We played against a strong team. We saw tonight that Egypt are back, even on a bad pitch they played good football. They were more mature than us,” said Renard, who refused to use translators and alternated between French and English in the press conference.
He vowed to build on the Atlas Lions’ surprise showing at the tournament here, where they qualified for the knockout stage for the first time since 2004.
“We have to keep the same fighting spirit. We will keep the core of the team – we have a fantastic captain in Medhi Benatia. But we need to bring in new players as well. Step by step, we will get there.”
Having finished ahead of Ivory Coast to take Morocco to the quarters, Renard’s task now will be to eliminate his former team in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, although the Lions trail the Elephants by two points after two games in their Group C, which includes Mali and Gabon.
“French coach refuses to rule himself out of job