Renard reveals the details of the Senegal negotiations and declares: this team is number one in Africa

The French coach praises the results of Moroccan football in the recent period

Hervé Renard, the current head coach of Ivory Coast and former Morocco boss, has lifted the lid on his contact with the Senegalese Football Federation. He confirmed that officials called him before communication stopped dead, with no one telling him he had been passed over.

Patrick Vieira is preparing to officially take charge of the Senegal national team after being chosen to lead the Lions of Teranga. Yet it appears the French coach was not the only option on the table for the Senegalese Federation.

Renard told Canal Plus: “Yes, I received a call from the Senegalese Federation,” explaining that the contact never turned into an official offer to take up the role.

Waiting without a reply

The Frenchman waited for the Senegalese side to call back. It never happened. He then discovered the federation had turned to another option.

“No one told me,” Renard said of the way communication between him and the Senegalese Federation ended.

Renard showed no obvious anger at his treatment, but his remarks laid bare the murky nature of the federation’s negotiations. His name had been floated for the role during the summer, when he was available and tied to no national team.

He did not have to wait long. At the same time, an offer arrived to return to Ivory Coast, the team he led to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015.

Renard said of the decision to return to the Elephants: “We close the curtain and move on to something else.”

Morocco on top

Asked to rank the powers of African football, Renard put Morocco right at the top, pointing to their recent results on the world stage.

He said: “I believe Morocco today is the number one team in Africa in international competitions, and I don’t think anyone can deny that, especially when you are able to reach the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup and the quarter-final in 2026.”

Morocco became the first African and Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, before making the last eight again in 2026 to become the first African side to reach two World Cup quarter-finals. Their run in the latest edition ended with a 0-2 defeat to France.

Renard added: “On the world stage, Morocco is the African team that has produced the best performance. They have shown the way for the rest of the African teams. We must believe in the capabilities of these teams, because there is immense quality in African football.”

His words carry particular weight. Renard knows Moroccan football inside out, having led the national team between 2016 and 2019.

Praise for the Moroccan project

That praise rests on personal experience. Renard spent around three and a half years at the head of the technical staff and led Morocco to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, ending a 20-year absence from the tournament.

He said: “I know Morocco well after spending three and a half years there. I believe they have a system and an organisation of the highest level, and they lack nothing compared to the best teams in the world.”

Morocco’s rise, the Frenchman stressed, owed nothing to chance. It was the fruit of long-term work and investment in infrastructure and organisation.

He explained: “Morocco understood things well, and it is on an upward curve. The other African teams must follow their example. It requires budgets and infrastructure, and Africa must continue working in this direction.”

Renard returned to Ivory Coast last August for a second spell, more than a decade after leading them to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations title. That makes him one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the continental tournament, a two-time winner with two different teams.