YOU HERVE GOT IT WRONG

By Mike Mubanga

As the football world awaits to hear official confirmation of Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard’s move to French Ligue 1 club Lille, I observe with interest how Renard’s moves have become big rumours each time he decides to make one.

And the Lille move is not different.

It is reported that the 46 year old Aix-les-Bains born coach has already reached a three year agreement to replace Rene Girard at the end of the current campaign next week.

Without sweeping anything under the carpet, I describe Renard’s move to Lille as wrong.

It is in Africa that Renard has built an awesome curriculum vitae, having also worked as an understudy to the ‘White Witch Doctor’ Claude Le Roy while he was at the helm of the Black Stars of Ghana.

 

He did a ‘go come’ with Zambia and eventually led the southern African nation to their first African Nations title in 2012, an achievement which brought a lot of honour and dignity to the soccer mad country.

 

However, that was when the problem started. Renard found it fit to trek to his native nation France, and took over at Sochaux in the 2013-2014 campaign.

We all know what happened, Sochaux was relegated!

Yes, he came in when the team was performing poorly but his tactics never worked. His so called philosophy of transforming players did not work out, and African teams started looking for his signature.

His journey back to west Africa proved more successful as he ended an over three-decade wait for an African title by leading the Elephants to clinch the continental trophy on penalties at the 2015 Equatorial Guinea showpiece against Ghana.

With such a powerful record, Renard should have stayed calm, collected, and thought wisely on his next decision.

I think that the Fox, who is currently the best foreign coach on the African continent, should have stayed in Ivory Coast or moved to another country since he has already achieved what he wanted by winning the AFCON.

I am not wishing him bad, but I know that coaching club football comes with greater responsibility, which I don’t see in Renard.

But Renard should not worry as a number of African counties are already waiting to hire him once he is fired at the club.

You all know African countries and their desire to hire foreign coaches at the expense of some credible locals, need I say more?