Hervé Renard Returns to Ivory Coast for Second Spell in Charge

The Ivorian Football Federation has confirmed Hervé Renard as the new head coach of the Elephants, replacing Emerse Faé and marking his second stint with the national team.

Renard first managed Ivory Coast between 2014 and 2015, a spell that ended with the country's second Africa Cup of Nations title, won on penalties against Ghana in a final still remembered as one of the tournament's most dramatic.

What He Left Behind the First Time

The numbers from that first tenure explain why his return has landed as a statement appointment rather than a stopgap. Renard managed 18 matches for Ivory Coast, winning nine, drawing five and losing four, with the team scoring 36 goals and conceding 29. His heaviest win came in a 5-1 rout of Sierra Leone during 2015 AFCON qualifying, and his first match in charge, fittingly, was also a win over Sierra Leone, 2-1 in a qualifier. His final game before departing was a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in March 2015.

Renard also holds a AFCON title with Zambia from 2012, giving him continental winning pedigree with two different national teams, a rare distinction in African football management. The Ivorian federation will now be counting on that record to steer a squad still built to defend its status as two-time African champions.