Hervé Renard has been reappointed as Saudi Arabia head coach following the departure of Roberto Mancini.
Frenchman Renard captained the Saudi men’s team from July 2019 to March 2023 and led them to a remarkable victory over eventual winners Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The 56 year old man left the role to lead the women of France during the 2023 World Cup and on home soil at this year Olympic Games.
He was replaced at the Saudi bar by Mancini, whom he now succeeded after the Italian agreed with the Saudi Football Federation to end his contract. 59 year old Mancini quit his role as an Italian head coach and became a director of Saudi Arabia in August 2023, but he survived the difficult time.
“I’m back,” Leonard said in an external video published in the story of the National Team. “I didn’t plan to leave, but when your country knocks on your door, you have to answer.
“I’m not done with Saudi Arabia yet.”
Renard’s second term in charge will begin with World Cup qualifiers in Australia and Indonesia in November.
