Frenchman Hervé Renard has officially taken up the Saudi Arabia national team job as head coach.
This comes after weeks of speculations since leading Morocco to a surprise early elimination from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Renard announced his resignation as coach of the Atlas Lions on Sunday, July 21, paving way for him to sign up for the Falcons job as a replacement for Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi.
The Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) officially announced the appointment of the 50-year-old tactician Monday:
أول مدرب في التاريخ يحقق كأس أفريقيا مع منتخبين مختلفين 🔝
عاد بمنتخب المغرب إلى نهائيات كأس العالم بعد غياب 20 عام 🌟
قفز بمنتخب المغرب من التصنيف 80 إلى 41 📊نقدّم لكم إيرڤي رينارد مدرب المنتخب الوطني الجديد ⚪️💚 pic.twitter.com/sf8qIuLl6v
— المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) July 29, 2019
Hervé Renard reportedly signed a two-and-a-half year contract with the SAFF.
The Saudi Arabia job is Renard’s first with an Asian team.
Heureux de démarrer une nouvelle aventure en Arabie Saoudite sur un nouveau continent !
Happy to start a new adventure in Saudi Arabia on a new continent ! pic.twitter.com/AcoyND9kxb
— Hervé Renard (@Herve_Renard_HR) July 29, 2019
His success in the coaching job has been with African countries where he has handled the national teams of Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast and recently Morocco. During that, he won the Africa Cup of Nations twice – with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015.
Saudi Arabia, who are preparing for the second phase of the Asian qualifiers to the 2022 World Cup, are lodged in Group D alongside Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen and Singapore.
