Hervé Renard favourite to replace Djamel Belmadi as Algeria manager

25/01/2024 13:00

Hervé Renard has emerged as the frontrunner to take over the job as Algeria’s head coach. following the sacking of Djamel Belmadi, according to a report from L’Equipe. 

Belmadi’s fate was sealed when Les Fennecs crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the group stages for the second consecutive tournament. The 2019 winners looked a shadow of their former selves and Belmadi’s departure was an inevitability. 

Walid Sadi, the head of the Algerian football federation, has promised a radical change, amid the search for a new manager. The early front-runner to take the role is Renard, whose contract with the France Women’s national team runs until this summer’s Paris Olympic Games. Sadi is very interested in the Frenchman, who managed the Saudi Arabia national team during the 2022 Men’s World Cup, according to L’Équipe. 

The manager of Les Bleues has responded to the rumours, telling El-Bilad, an Algerian media, “I am under contract with the French football federation until August […] I cannot comment on this question.” 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle