Former Zambia national team coach Herve Renard has said his heart will always be with Zambia and has failed to rule out a possible return to coach the Chipolopolo.
Renard who was speaking on arrival in Zambia yesterday that he is happy to be honoured by Zambia for the achievement during the 2012 Afrfica Cup of Nations.
My heart will always be with Zambia and I am happy to be back. I am coming to Zambia with divided loyalty because my heart is with Zambia but my professional loyalty is with my employers, Ivory Coast,” a jovial Renard said.
“I will tell you something from the bottom of my heart, I always thought it will be better somewhere else but to tell you the truth, I always miss Zambia. I wonder what you guys did to me,” he said.
“I feel good that I will be honoured but it is something that I have difficulties talking about because it reminds me of February 13, 2012 when we came back with the Africa Cup. It is something I will always cherish,” he said.
I will always come back as a citizen of this country, I will not say much because in football anything can happen,” Renard said.
Renard was granted permanent residence status by the government of Zambia after he led the Chipolopolo to the first ever gold at the AFCON.
ZamFoot / Times
We’ll come bk home Renard and just for your own information …they don’t call us ‘Zambia in the Sun’ for nothing as once you’re lived in Zambia ,Zambia will always be in you.
Renard will be remembered in the history of zambian football than any other coach because he brought the first AFCON to zambia. We have to appreciate sometimes.
Welcome come back, no one can argue with a trophy! It was a good marriage; the natural flare of the Chipolopolo and your mental toughness! If you want to reap success with your new team, find a new keeper, faster defenders and a midfield that can hold onto the ball and feed the strikers.
The first one to bring Afcon to Zambia since Independence. He is an Icon
HR you are the best Zambia has ever had.
May the divine powers protects you from west african pandemic!!!!!
Put a statue of this guy. John will give up his Zambian citizenship.kekeke
Yeah HR you are in our hearts always, but keep dreaming maybe one day you will coach a big team like Zambia. Kekeke
Wansekesha sana iwe mune.
Where do you guys get such exciting ideas from.
Yes maybe one day he can coach a big team like Zambia. Though he doesn’t appreciate.
You only miss your water when the well runs dry.
Maybe you dont know me, i been on this blog 07 talking football issues..
I hope you know im joking. But there is an element of truth to what i say unless Kalu or Zambia become that desperate to call him back. Never say never but for the immediate future i cant see HRs return!
Herve musnt flatter himself. anyone would have won that afcon. he simply thrived on the work boneti did. on his return, never should we entertain that. he is an opportunist. he fails werever he goes. let ur remember that he failed to qualify us to brazil even with 3 free boardroom points on the plate. herve is history.
Stumpy don’t always be negative! You like it or not this guy will remain the only coach to have brought the AFCON trophy to this country. Sometimes we should learn to appreciate as simple as that.
Do us stumpy. How many of the team us to afcon actually played at afcon? How many of the 2012 winning afcon players took part in the 2010 Angola afcon? As far as I am concerned the Mini Zambian soccer revival began with great kalu as he surprised us with some talent he allowed to play for the team. Renard and Patrice gave the boys a passion to play the game with hunger e.g. at Angola Afcon. I bet you if stats were there our boys were hard tacklers at that tournament and most evident was their improved fitness. With all due respect to Bonetti its an insult to think that renard woke up one day and just collected the trophy in Gabon. If tactics failed renard it was the game against Ghana. But hey, Mayuka scored and Ghana missed their chances. Luck???? You have to be dreaming to think that coz one team took its chances while the other didn’t!!!! The final? Tekwakulanda. Spot on for tactics. Was that still Bonetti’s work? Let us give credit where it is due bane. Time would fail me if I should mention ba moyo pa man u, avb pa totenham, koeman pa Southampton. Nga ba chambeshi pa nkana, is he a poor coach coz clearly masauso did good there? Kwena tutashefye what has happened after 2012 afcon in is inconsequential to how we feel or think about it. Herve remains a hero of sorts by Zambian standards-take it or leave it!!!! Happy 50th anniversary mune!
Sorry Stumpy, some typos there! Here is a corrected version.
Bo stumpy. How many of the team that qualified us to afcon actually played at afcon 2012? How many of the 2012 winning afcon players took part in the 2010 Angola afcon? As far as I am concerned the Mini Zambian soccer revival began with great kalu as he surprised us with some talent he allowed to play for the team. Renard and Patrice gave the boys a passion to play the game with hunger e.g. at Angola Afcon. I bet you if stats were there our boys were hard tacklers at that tournament and most evident was their improved fitness. With all due respect to Bonetti its an insult to think that renard woke up one day and just collected the trophy in Gabon. If tactics failed renard it was in the game against Ghana. But hey, Mayuka scored and Ghana missed their chances. Luck???? You have to be dreaming to think that coz one team took its chances while the other didn’t!!!! The final? Tekwakulanda. Spot on for tactics. Was that still Bonetti’s work? Let us give credit where it is due bane. Time would fail me if I should mention ba moyo pa man u, avb pa totenham, koeman pa Southampton. Nga ba chambeshi pa nkana, is he a poor coach coz clearly masauso did good there? Kwena tutashefye what has happened after 2012 afcon is inconsequential to how we feel or think about it. Herve remains a hero of sorts by Zambian standards-take it or leave it!!!! Happy 50th anniversary mune!
In 2010 Zambia reached the second round under Renard,2012 we won the cup. That can’t be a fluke or whatever you may call it. The guy knows zambian football even though he is failing to perform in other countries. Welcome back Renard !!!
Zambia z yo second home rena. Guys sory to say this I jst want to express my feelings, am disappointd with kalu. Hw can faz b broke when we hv been havin games at home. Is kalu a leader or wat? Why z faz failin to pay the queens their allowances. Faz belongs to all zambians & nt to an individual, kalu needs to b serious
Kalu at work lol
you zambians are cowards they are better european coaches and you are crying for the return of pathetic renard. They are coaches in europe better than this guy learn to move on. We should find a better coach he is saying he wants to come back because he knows he can be fired as ivory coast coach.
I will always like RENARD as long as he stays away from chipolopolo
r u faz?
I’ve always thought Heave Renard is the best coach Zambia has ever hard, as a coach he brought as the Africa Cup of Nations that we had been dreaming for is many years since independence in 1964 exactly 50 years today 24th October 2014, under our previous coaches with even better teams going into an Afcon tournaments we failed to deliver the most sort after Cup on African soil but his french man did for that he will aways remain in my memories. And will aways be wellcome back to our national team when he feels so, you have head him say and I cot “let me say something from my heart – I’ve always thought were I go I will find happiness but I always find my self missing Zambia, to me Zambia is in my heart its my home”. Some may say his not a good coach but he knows Zambian prayers in and out, he has performed more than the expectations to most of us, so he is the man congregations zambian government for honouring him because Zambian football history in this 50years of independence is never complete without mentioning his name, viva Renard
you wil never be apreciated by all,even a son of God was condemned after healing pipo and rising the dead.this guy brought us afcon period.
Ba Pastor Pulu! I like that light-hearted sacarstic posting on HR. But you’ve got to give the man who gave Zambia it’s first NationS Cup in half a century of trying….He must have done something right that his more qualified predecessors (Buselic, Brain Tiler, Kalu…) couldnt do! Dont you think? Is he just a damn good psychologist? or a smart opportunist who fully exploited Zambia’s emotional connection with Gabon? Because when we look at it…we didnt have exceptional players in that Afcon…the proof only one (Sunzu) got an overseas contract…Sinkala is still a TPM player on loan with those Grasshopers.
So..welcome back HR and can you tell us now your secret for winning that 2012 AFCON?
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Zambians a Happy National day. 50 years. We have come a long way. Jubilee!! May peace continue to reign in my beloved country.
Proud Zambian!!
He did what he did and thanks for that. Its good he is also realizing how unreasonable he has always been to Zambia, a country that made him what he is.
The lunatic even had the audacity to take his henchman who left us coach-less with 4 months before an AFCON.
Its okay kaleya, we have now moved on with Janza.
We will support Janza to the last man standing, until all the remaining points are either ours or are all lost.
“We shall fight, in the air, on the ground, we shall never, never surrender.”
‘We shall never, we shall never, never we shall never, never surrender.’
@ Stumpy! All what Zambians needed was atleast have Afcon at one time . not only just go to the World Cup and come back with no win. Renard did very well ( Afcon 2012/ Cosafa )
It was not easy to lift the 2012 Afcon, beating big teams like Ghana, Ivor Cost, Sudan and E/G. Let’s give thanks to all the achievements he did for the 50 year old nation
Kojax,
I agree with you in totality … sure our memories can be so short … HR did as proud in 2010 and also 2012 (best penalty takers, compare with 2010 or other years, we were bad penalty takers)… remember Zambia never went past first round in previous competitions since 1998 …. 1994 final 1996 semi-final 1998 Quarter/first round 2000 first round/failed to qualify …. the sad story continued till Kalu qualified us and even though we were out in the first round … HR took us to the Quarter final in 2010 losing in a penalty shoot out with the super eagles … remember under him we were the only team to have not lost a competitive match at two consecutive AFcons 2012 and 2013! someone calling this a fluke must refine analytical skills … for now happy golden jubilee to us all and SHALOM
KAMPINDA well I appreciate RENARDs contribution to Zambian football BUT I DONT WANT TO COME BACK no
RENARD should never mislead himself into thinking he will coach chipolopolo again we now know he is an average coach who was in the right place at the right time in 2012 to have won an AFCON
Watching ISAAC CHANSA AND KONDWANI MTONGA PLAYING FOR NORTH EAST AGAINST MUMBAI CITY IN THE INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE. STILL 0-0.THE GAME IS ON SUPERSPORT 9
Kondwani Mtonga has just scored. Football is quite competitive in India eh! I was really looking down on it..
Happy Jubilee mother Zambia ! Tomorrow’s game I will be there ! Will u ?
I hear old guys like Robert Pires, Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezerguet and Freddie Ljungberg all play in India, together with our Isaac Chansa.
I also love Mr Rena and i love him more for having left Zambia. His record with Zambia, including where he found Zambia and left us, is there for all to see and judge for themselves. Independent minds, independent and mixed comments about him, as i can see from most comments.
Good for India and those retirees…as long as our youngsters are not lured to play there. Our guys shouldnt naive about Indians….they are racist to the core. They shouldnt be surprised when their supporters start abusing them.
I appreciate what Herve renard did for our mother Zambia,but let’s not just focus on our winning of the afcon to think renard is the best coach for Zambia,renard messed us up on a lot of games we would have easily won,like the game we had played againsed Nigeria were he put Chisamba lungu in defence,he also used mayuka on a number of games as a loan striker when mayuka is not in the calibre of strikers to play alone in front,but they is nodoubt that renard is better then this foolish Janza,this chi Janza is not taking us nowhere people,he does nt understand the game of soccer at all,what Zambia needs is a clever coach like the late Nkana coach,anywhere,chi kalusha is the stupid one
Renard was not the best coach Zambia,I like what he did in the midfield but his strategies upfront were useless,he also messed us up in defence in a number of important games,like the game he had used Chisamba lungu as a defender,when even me as a layman knows very well that Chisamba is more effective in the mid field,he also used Mayuka as a loan striker in a number of important games when mayuka is not in the calibre of strikers to play alone upfront,Zambia generally does not peform well when we play that way for Godsake,but they is nodoubt that Renard is better than this monkey called Janza,this guy does not understand the game of soccer,i wonder why this stupid,Sturbon Kalusha has to keep on bringing experimental coaches to coach Zambia and even gives him some foreighn white dutch man who has no idea about Zambian soccer in the 11th hour and expect Zambia to perform,we aint going nowhere people,what we need is a clever coach who understands zambian soccer,like the late Nkana coach
Renard we salute you as zambians