Herve Renard
Former Ghana physical trainer Herve Renard has revealed that the “physical trainer” tag handed him by Ghana during his spell with the Black Stars made him upset.
He, however, said that urged him on to prove a point to Ghana by dealing with them in two separate African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
The two-time AFCON winner worked under French trainer Claude Le Roi when Ghana hosted the 26th edition of the championship and finished third.
And despite being a coach since 2000, he was deemed a physical trainer; a tag he stated urged him on in his career to prove a point.
After parting ways with Ghana, he handled Zambia’s Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) and thought the Black Stars a bitter lesson by eliminating them at the semis in the Gabon 2012 championship.
Three years on, he guided Ivory Coast to deny Ghana its fifth AFCON trophy on penalties in Equatorial Guinea.
“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.”
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 ‘Iwill 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.”
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum