[Official] Not Korea, but 'again' Africa chosen! Legendary coach Hervé Renard returns to Côte d'Ivoire after 11 years... "Aiming for the African Cup of Nations title"

*This content was translated by AI.

Hervé Renard (58), previously mentioned as a candidate for the next head coach of the South Korean national football team, is set to take charge of Côte d'Ivoire again after 11 years.

Sports outlet ESPN reported on the 5th (Korean time) that Côte d'Ivoire officially announced Renard's appointment. This means Côte d'Ivoire welcomed a new head coach just five days after parting ways with coach Emerse Fae on the 31st of last month.

Renard, a veteran manager who has previously led Zambia, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, coached Côte d'Ivoire from 2014 to 2015. With this new appointment, he returns to his former team after 11 years.

Renard is known as an "Africa expert" with a particularly strong track record on the African continent. Notably, he led Zambia to a surprise African Cup of Nations title in 2012 and then guided Côte d'Ivoire to another championship in 2015 after taking charge there, proving his exceptional managerial abilities. It appears Côte d'Ivoire has once again turned to this proven winner-claimer to recreate past glory.

His recent performance was somewhat disappointing. He was urgently deployed as a "firefighter" for the Tunisia national team immediately after the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage, which had just concluded. However, consecutive defeats prevented him from avoiding elimination with three straight losses, leading to his eventual departure from the team.

During a brief break afterward, Renard was consistently mentioned as a candidate for the next South Korean national team head coach, but his final choice was the familiar African stage. With Renard's destination confirmed, one of the potential candidates for the Korea Football Association's new head coach has been eliminated.

Returning to Côte d'Ivoire, Coach Hervé Renard is set to embark on a new journey with the goal of reclaiming the title at the "2027 African Cup of Nations," jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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*This content was translated by AI.