Hervé Renard, coach of the French women’s team and tipped to take charge of Côte d’Ivoire until the end of the African Cup of Nations in the form of a loan from the French Federation, “will not go to the CAN” the FFF, with whom the technician is under contract, told AFP on Thursday.
Hervé Renard won the CAN in 2015 with Ivory Coast
The two French and Ivorian federations discussed this unprecedented loan in the afternoon, but did not reach an agreement for the “freelance” of Hervé Renard. The Blue coach enjoys great popularity in Ivory Coast, having won the CAN in 2015, at the head of the Elephants. He also won the competition as Zambia coach in 2012 and managed the Morocco selection between 2016 and 2019, which led the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) to contact its French counterpart.
Under contract with the French team until the Olympics this summer, Hervé Renard and the Bleues must play in the semi-final of the League of Nations against Germany on February 23. For its part, Côte d’Ivoire, qualified at the last minute for the final phases of “its” CAN, meets Senegal, one of the favorites of the competition, in the round of 16 on Monday. The federation parted ways with its coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, on Wednesday for “insufficient results”, two days after a rout (0-4) against Equatorial Guinea during the Elephants’ final group match.
It is the Frenchman’s assistant, Emerse Faé, who should guide the Elephants for the rest of their tournament. After a good start against Guinea-Bissau (2-0), the Ivorians were beaten by Nigeria (1-0), then crushed by Equatorial Guinea. With three points, they finished third in Group A, but were one of the four best thirds qualified for the 8th, thanks to a victory for Morocco over Zambia (1-0), two days after their last meeting. The CAN final is scheduled for February 11 in Abidjan. It will be done without Hervé Renard.