Football fans around the world were left stunned after underdogs Saudi Arabia suppressed South American giants Argentina in a nail-biting Group C fixture at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Falcons of Saudi Arabia survived a late onslaught to coast to a 2-1 victory over the Copa America champions.
Two early second half goals from Al Hilal’s duo of Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-dawsari were enough to overturn Lionel Messi’s opener from the penalty spot.
Fans and experts across the world were more impressed by the manner in which the 51st-ranked country neutralised their star-studded opponent, forcing three disallowed first-half goals with well executed offside traps.
However, on the sidelines was a towering figure dressed in [white shirt and black pants] barking out instructions on how to tactically disperse the Scaloni-led side – Herve Renard.
It was not a surprising sight for many Africans seeing the former Zambia and Ivory Coast head coach’s antics on the sidelines, having previously managed four different African sides including two spells with the Chipolopo of Zambia.
An excited Renard after seeing his team cause an upset in Lusail could not hide his excitement, saying: “All the stars in the sky were aligned for us, but don’t forget Argentina are still a fantastic team.
“This is football, sometimes totally crazy things can happen…(We can) just have a good celebration during 20 minutes and that’s all, there are still two more games…When you come to the World Cup, you need to believe in yourself, anything can happen in football.”
Herve Renard had a 15-year playing career as a defender for French clubs; Cannes, Stade de Vallauris and SC Draguignan but his stint with the Ghanaian national team as an assistant coach to fellow French manager Claude Le Roy, made him popular in the African football scenery.
Renard became the coach of the Zambian national team in 2008. Shortly afterwards, he led them to the quarter finals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – the first time in 14 years they would achieve such feat.
He had an unsuccessfully short stint with Algeria-based club, USM Alger and the Palancas Negras of Angola in 2010, where he resigned after just six months in charge.
In his second stint as Zambian head coach, Renard won the AFCON title in Gabon 2012, defeating favourites Ivory Coast on penalties; a victory that was dedicated to the 18 Zambian players that died in a plane crash a few miles away from the site of the finals.
Two years later, the former Sochaux manager was announced as the new coach of the star-studded Ivory Coast national team that had Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou and it did not take long for him to etch his name into African football history in 2015, becoming the first ever manager to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different teams.
Renard continued his African sojourn in 2016 to become the national team coach for Morocco.
He broke the Atlas Lions’ 20-year absence from the FIFA World Cup tournament after he led the team to the tournament in Russia 2018.
In July 2019, Saudi Arabia Football Federation announced his appointment and he played a huge role in leading the Falcons to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, becoming the non-indigenous manager with the most wins (18) in the country’s football history.
Following the memorable win in Lusail coupled with his huge experience in global tournaments, Renard and his Saudi Arabian players would be hoping to make it a perfect start with two wins in two games when they face Robert Lewandowski’s Poland on Saturday in the Education City Stadium.
