Why I turned down Super Eagles coaching offer – Herve Renard

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Former coach of French women’s national team, Herve Renard says he refused to accept the coaching role of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team.

Renard was one of the coaches expected to take over the role of Super Eagles after the expiration of Jose Peseiro’s contract at the end of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner with Zambia asserted that he almost accepted the role.

“I almost went to Nigeria; I weighed up the pros and cons for a few days,” Renard told the French outlet L’Equipe.

“Even a few weeks before refusing. It is the best offer I’ve had so far, the rest didn’t suit me.”

The white garment coach is a household name in the African football landscape.

After coaching Angola in 2010, he took up the role with Zambia in 2011 and won the Southern Africa country’s first and only AFCON title.

A year later, Renard was appointed the coach of Cote d’Ivoire and also won the AFCON with the West African side.

His last role in charge of an African team was with Morocco from 2016 to 2019.

The coaching role of Super Eagles remained open with the departure of Finidi George as Augustine Eguavoen has stepped in on an interim basis.