Renard shows SA, Ghana what they missed
SAUDI Arabia coach Herve Renard achieved the improbable at the World Cup to the irk of a lot of South African and Ghanaian football fans.
The Saudi Arabians were regarded as underdogs in Qatar, where they were drawn with Argentina, Mexico and Poland.
But under the leadership Renard they pulled off the unthinkable in their opening match on Tuesday, beating one of the World Cup favourites Argentina 2-1.
It was a spirited performance from the Saudis who came from behind to snatch a famous win over Lionel Messi’s team.
For that win, a lot of credit was given to Renard, given the fact that the Frenchmen had already made history in Africa as well.
Renard won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia and Ivory Coast in 2012 and 2015, while he also led Morocco to their first World Cup in 20 years in 2018.
Renard’s heroics over the years have earned him the nickname “the man in a magical white shirt” having mostly donned the shirt during his wins.
But Renard’s latest triumph has irked a lot of South Africans who bemoaned how
Safa lost out on him for Bafana’s coaching job last year.
Following the sacking of Molefi Ntseki, Renard was one of the candidates who was strongly linked to the Bafana job only for Safa to hire Hugo Broos.
“@SAFAnet have absolutely been hiring people who we know aren’t actual coaches, this man is a winner and we once had a chance to make him coach, salute Herve Renard,” @kekemashile tweeted.
It is not only Safa that slept on Renard, but the Ghanaian FA as well, who had the 54-year-old part of the national team as a physical trainer in 2008.
“To think Herve Renard was once a physical trainer for the Black Stars,” tweeted Ghana’s sports journalist Frank Darkwah on the GFA’s loss.
Meanwhile, euphoria swept across Saudi Arabia after the team’s win over
Argentina, with the government declaring yesterday a public holiday.
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud directed to approve what has been proposed by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, that tomorrow, Wednesday, corresponding to 29/04/1444 AH, will be a holiday for all employees in all government sectors and private sector, as well as students in all educational stages, on the occasion of the Saudi national team’s victory against Argentine national team in the World Cup,” the Saudi Press Agency reported in a statement on Tuesday.
Ironically, the last time Argentina lost their opening World Cup match in 1990 against the Indomitable Lions, the Cameroonian government declared the following day as a public holiday as well.