Can coach Herve Renard change the fortunes of Malawi?
Little was known about French coach Herve Renard until he took charge of Zambia and led them to win their first-ever Nations Cup title in 2012 during the finals co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
It was a fairly tale run for the Chipolopolos in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and it hadn’t been easy sailing because after a poor first six months in charge of Zambia, fortunes changed for the Frenchman’s side when they went on to win bronze during the inaugural African Nations Championship (CHAN) hosted by Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 where they beat Senegal 2-1 in a third place play-off.
His first Nations Cup finals appearance was with Zambia in 2010 in Angola in which they bowed out after the group stages.
Fans across Africa started noticing a rarity on the French when he kept wearing the same white short and a pair of jeans at each of their games.
After failing to retain the trophy with the Chipolopolos in 2013, the Frenchman was engaged by Cote d’Ivoire and he led the Elephants to their second title in 23 years 2015 during the tournament hosted by Equatorial Guinea.
Then Morocco football federation, after assessing that it was not just luck following the Frenchman, they appointed him in 2016 in the drive to restore the Atlas Lions’ lost glory.
The Moroccans’ gamble worked because he led the Atlas Lions to qualify first for the 2017 Nations Cup and he has gone on to help the North Africans to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after 23 years in the wilderness. What a record!
Renard is no stranger to African football. His stint with Zambia was his first as head coach — before that he was Ghana’s physical trainer during the 2008 edition which the Black Stars hosted.
Before coming to Africa to assist Ghana, he had been coaching English team Cambridge United. He also coached French side SC Draguignan for 10 years and was at AS Cherbourg from 2005 to 2007 before moving to Chinese club Shanghai Cosco.
He is someone with quite a good resume. When Renard’s achievement with Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco was posted on social media, some Malawian fans were suggesting that maybe that’s the type of coach the Flames need but others quickly pointed out that it would be suicidal for Renard to come and coach Malawi.
Why? — the pessimists said the Frenchman would just contaminate his good record because the Flames are not just good enough as opposed to the African sides he has led.
There might be some truth to it only if Malawi was to rope in Renard and leave him to his job without being given the right resources to work with.
I am quite sure that in Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco, Renard was given everything he needed for him to have an excellent working environment and he had quite an array of experienced players at his disposal who are constantly participating in the continental club championship.
Not with Malawi. Our players lack the international experience where they can be exposed starting with the CAF club championship because of lack of funding. Our participation at international junior level is haphazard because of the same lack of funding.
We only have one stadia that is of high standard — the new national stadium in Lilongwe. The rest are not even suitable for youngsters to display their skills on.
We’ve have excellent players in the past but we failed to qualify for the Nations Cup at the last hurdle and even when CAF decided to introduce the CHAN tournament meant specifically for domestic league players, the Flames have failed to qualify.
Our problems in football are deep rooted and we need to look into them deeply and solve so that we can afford to invite top notch coaches to assist us.
The Flames coach, RVG, is very little known just like Renard was before he was engaged by the Zambians. RVG cannot succeed with the type of environment he is in. In my opinion, RVG is here just to build on his resume in the hope of being engaged by serious bidders on the continent.
We have a lot to do for our football from the grassroots to the top before we can think of considering engaging coaches of Renard’s calibre. Give RVG time enough to help us build a strong foundation and he should always be part of every junior stage of the national team for him to select players for the future.
Meanwhile, there is just the need to invest into football by giving it the right resources and infrastructure.
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I have to make a correction that Harvey Renald ‘s assistant coach and righthand man is Patrice Beaumelle and not late Zambian Ben Banfuchile as earlier written . I apologize for the error to those who are keen followers and readers of football news, otherwise the rest of the facts remain the same.
nanunso inu dont just write gabbage just because you have been given a space to write….. Malawi cant even afford to pay the lesser known RvG nde you think that dude mumudyetsa chani?
And its high time you media guys learn to accept that RvG is our coach for now, so stick with him whether you like him or not.
Negativity cant take us anywhere
Fact number one: Harvey Renard can never come to Malawi if there was such a possibility because 1- Malawi is not a known footballing nation 2-Malawi can not afford to pay him 3-Malawi is used to appointing assistant coaches to understudy the senior coach while Harvey has his right-hand man in the name of Ben Banfuchile who follows his coaching exploits wherever he goes- the two have similar footballing DNA and always bond together.
Fact number 2: RVG is not in Malawi to polish up his CV because Malawi is an underperforming team with no world class professionals. RVG thought he could adventure into the challenges of a national team and establish himself as a successful expatriate coach from Belgium, but he gambled by committing himself to an engagement that lacked resources and that exposed his tactless methodology. RVG is not good enough.
Harvey Renard was smart enough to attach himself during his first African experience, to one of the African powerhouses(Ghana) and he never changed course to dip himself into the waters of Africa’s minnows – for his next destinations were Zambia, Ivory Coast, and now Morocco. You can not get exposed as a poor tactician if you are attached to the best of African football. If RVG had a chance to coach, say, Senegal, he would be a hero or a super tactician because Senegal has stars all over Europe who don’t need basic or added coaching tactics from a coach such as RVG, and the EPL alone has about four stars from the West African country.
Fact number three: RVG is not suitable for Malawi national team but he is for any of the junior teams because he emphasizes on a passing game which does not bring goals on the table but only entertains fans and builds playing skill. The juniors need such type of playing method. Since RVG came to Malawi, his team has always been shy on goal, a fact that proves that his team lacks a forward surge but passes without a winning strategy. This type of football is good for academy players and not players who are competing for honors.
Fact number four: Much as RVG is proving to be a failure in coaching the Flames, the national team lacks the pedigree to be counted as a force on the African continent. Most of Malawian players ply their trade either in Mozambique or South Africa which puts them at a disadvantage against players with so many years of experience in the elite leagues of Europe. If South Africa lost at home to Senegal with most players from the PSL, how can Malawi’s average players based in the same league perform wonders against a Moroccan team with almost all players from Europe’s top leagues?
The concluding fact is that even if a top class coach was assigned to Malawi, he would never succeed based on the fact that Malawi is devoid of tactically good players who have European exposure and experience to challenge any opposition. Malawi should improve its football by introducing academies in clubs and districts or regions and not by rushing to employ expatriates at senior national team level. Expatriates should be employed to teach boys and not madalas who are unteachable at senior level.
This RVG or what do you call him is a waste of time…..the guy is not a coach…I dont know who brought him into Malawi…kuti azatani….? this team needs pipo like Kinnah, Young, Jack or Yassin the teacher
Guys be serious. RVG is a good coach but Malawians are lazy people.Tell them football instructions, they do their own acts on the ground.