Henard Appointed As Coach For Saudi Team

French football coach Herve Renard (R) and Saudi Football Federation chief Yasser Almisehal (L) pose with a Saudi national football team jersey bearing Renard's name, after signing as a coach in Jeddah on 05 August 2019.(Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP)

Henard promises to write history with the Saudi team. Al Ittihad appoints Rennard as head of the national team, in his first experience with a national team outside the African continent, after announcing his departure from Morocco.

Riyadh , in the context of changes in the Saudi team Renard said at a press conference held at the conference hall of King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah that "access to the World Cup Qatar 2022 is one of our main goals that we will work on them, and strive to achieve them. We want to write history and success that will come only through teamwork. ”

The Saudi federation announced on Monday the appointment of Renard as head of the technical team of the green team, in the first experience of the French national team outside the borders of the African continent, days after the announcement of his departure from the training of the Moroccan team, which he has supervised since the beginning of 2016.

Renard resigned as Morocco coach following the team's surprise elimination at the African Cup of Nations, now will take over Saudi Arabia's national team.

Renard's resignation came as Morocco's Atlas Lions were knocked out of the African Nations Cup finals by a surprise loss to Benin on penalties, but the Frenchman said his decision had been made before the tournament began. Renard succeeded Juan Antonio Pizzi, who spent a year and a half in his post, and his contract was not renewed after the end of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the UAE. .

At a press conference after the signing, Rennard touched on the difference between the continents of Asia and Africa. “Through 10 years of experience in Africa, I can say that the difference there is even between the north and south of the continent, and I think the most important thing for the coach is to adapt to the environment in which he works. It is very important to be in Saudi Arabia for long periods. ”

"We have to be aware that this will not be easy, and we will work together to achieve it," he said. ''There were criteria that we set for the selection of the new coach,'' said Saudi federation president Yasser Al-Mishal. ''The choice was signed by Frenchman Herve Renard, whom negotiations with him thankfully were easy, and what helped us more is his previous follow-up to the team. ''

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