Former Zambia coach, Renard, returns to Ivory Coast

Former Zambia national team coach, Hervé Renard, has been appointed head coach of Ivory Coast for a second spell, returning to the side he guided to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations title.

The Ivorian Football Federation announced Renard’s appointment following the departure of Emerse Fae, whose contract was not renewed after Ivory Coast’s FIFA World Cup campaign.

Aljazeera reports that Fae led the Elephants to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in four appearances, but the team’s run ended with a last-32 defeat to Norway.

Renard, 57, is no stranger to African football, having previously coached Zambia, Angola and Morocco. He remains a celebrated figure in Zambia after leading Chipolopolo to their historic first Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2012 with a memorable victory over Côte d’Ivoire in the final.

Read more: Côte d’Ivoire beat Tanzania to finish top of TotalEnergies WAFCON Group B

The Frenchman most recently took charge of Tunisia on an interim basis during the FIFA World Cup after replacing the team’s coach following a heavy opening defeat to Sweden. However, Tunisia failed to recover, suffering further losses to Japan and the Netherlands to become the only African side eliminated before the knockout stage.

Renard has also coached Saudi Arabia, guiding the Gulf nation to qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup before leaving shortly before the tournament. He later managed France’s women’s national team during the Paris Olympic Games.

He now returns to Ivory Coast with the task of reclaiming the Africa Cup of Nations title at next year’s tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

His first competitive matches in charge will come next month when Ivory Coast begin their AFCON qualifying campaign with a home fixture against Ghana before facing Somalia four days later.

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