Former Black Stars Assistant coach, Herve Renard has revealed that the successes he had enjoyed as a coach on the African continent were inspired by the disrespect he got from Ghanaians.
Herve Renard worked for the Black Stars under fellow French man Claude Le Roy during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations which was hosted in Ghana and was referred to as a physical trainer instead of an assistant coach by some Ghanaian journalist.
However, according to the man who had to eliminate Ghana twice(semi-finals with Zambia and final with Ivory Coast) before winning two AFCON trophies with Zambia and Ivory Coast in 2012 and 2015 respectively, his sole aim was to prove a point to Ghanaians after his 2008 encounter.
“My title with the Black Stars was “Physical coach” and it upset me because I had been a coach since 2000."
“But I was obliged to accept it. I arrived after Sellas Tetteh and I was young so I couldn’t tell the people, ‘hey, I am assistant coach’ but I was assistant coach, maybe number 2”, Renard told Juliet Bawuah of TV3.
He added that the tag he got from Ghanaians as a physical trainer made things difficult for him in his early days with the Zambian team.
"But When I started the Zambian job. my title in Ghana as a physical trainer popped up again and in my first interview in Zambia, I was asked how as a physical trainer was going to manage a national team. "
"I was a bit upset and wasn't happy with that but I said to myself that the provocation was good for me because I said to myself' i will show you what I can do'.i started my coaching career in 2000 and I became the coach of Zambia in 2008 and after eight years you are telling me I am not a coach? I was a bit upset" he narrated.