Hervé Renard has resigned as Saudi Arabia national coach. The 54-year-old Frenchman led the country to the World Cup in Qatar and won against eventual world champions Argentina during the tournament, but has now decided to leave.
After thunder speech during World Cup, national coach leaves Saudi Arabia
Renard has been the national coach of Saudi Arabia since the summer of 2019, with which he qualified for the World Cup. In a group with Argentina, Poland and Mexico, the country initially surprised by beating the eventual world champion 2-1. However, after defeats against Poland and Mexico, the tournament ended.
A video of Renard’s thundering speech at half-time in the group stage match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia was viewed millions of times in the days following the game. With an inspiring speech, the national coach planted the seed for the eventual comeback in the second half.
De Ligt: “I sent Nagelsmann another message”
Speaking about dismissed coaches, Matthijs de Ligt did not see the departure of Julian Nagelsmann coming during the international match period. The Orange-international makes it clear that he personally was not an opponent of the 35-year-old coach at Bayern Munich.
De Ligt has experienced a turbulent international period on several levels. The former Ajax player fell ill before the first game against France and returned to the base against Gibraltar. In the meantime, Nagelsmann was replaced by Thomas Tuchel at his club. De Ligt did not see that coming. He said after the 3-0 victory over Gibraltar: “No, I was surprised. We are second in the league, in the quarter-finals of the cup and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. There is still everything to play for.”
The 23-year-old defender calls the dismissal of Nagelsmann as a hard decision. “But I also think that Tuchel is a trainer who can help us well,” says De Ligt, who puts the stories from German media that there was a selection in the dressing room at Bayern into perspective.
De Ligt: “Ah, the German press; that says enough. I had a good relationship with the trainer and his staff. So it was a bit of a swallow. I’ve been in touch with him for a while. Sent him a message, thanking him for everything he taught me. I thought that was so neat. He really wanted me at the club and has been important to me. Also thanks to him, I have taken important steps in my development in recent months.”
Back in Munich, De Ligt will work towards Saturday’s top match. Leader Borussia Dortmund will then visit. The difference between Bayern and Dortmund is now one point.
