Hervé Renard’s press conference after the Nations League match won on Friday by Les Bleues against Portugal (2-0) brought back the specter of a putsch against Corinne Diacre.
Even though time has passed, the episode is still very present in people’s minds. Last February, Corinne Diacre was sidelined by decision of the French Football Federation, the body having decided to give in to the demands of several French players who were demanding change. At the origin of the putsch, the French captain Wendie Renard, followed in particular by Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, therefore obtained what she wanted, all leading to the arrival of a new coach in the person of Hervé Fox. Friday, while his Blue won against Portugal (2-0) in the Nations League, the tactician looked back on his team’s performance during the 2023 World Cup.
And Hervé Renard’s words challenged some. Despite the fact that his players once again failed in the quarter-finals of a major competition, the coach preferred to emphasize the image of the French team, a real success according to him, particularly in terms of media audience. . “ I think the image of the French team was perfect, in terms of audiences, in terms of the public, in terms of monitoring, I think we gained something. » Comments that made Bernard Lions react on the set of the channel The Team. “ I’m sorry, what happened during the last World Cup was a failure on a sporting level. So we say, ‘no we haven’t progressed, but the image of women’s football is beautiful’. But why was this image tarnished? It’s from the girls themselves.“
“They were not victims of a situation”
For the journalist, the Bleues putsch against Corinne Diacre therefore remains well anchored in the history of French women’s football and what has happened since then. “ There was the coup d’état against Corinne Diacre. They were not victims of a situation. They tried to restore what they themselves caused, the girls. So to say ‘the image is great’, I’m sorry, what I want is to see girls win like boys and I don’t want to make it a marketing product and communication. » It is up to Herve Renard and his players to do much better during the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
