By Kayode John
Former Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia coach Herve Renard has revealed how he came close to becoming the head coach of the Super Eagles.
After Nigeria’s below-par performances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers continued under Finidi George, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced it was embarking on a search for a foreign coach for the Super Eagles. Renard, who was with the French women’s national football team at the time, was said to have been contacted by the NFF.
Reports suggested he could consider taking the job, as he would be leaving his position in France after the summer Olympic Games. However, nothing was heard about him as a candidate afterwards.
On Thursday, Renard, who won the AFCON as coach with the Chipolopolo in 2012 and Elephants three years later, told French newspaper L’Equipe how close he was to taking the ‘best offer’.
“I almost went to Nigeria, I weighed up the pros and cons for a few days, even a few weeks before refusing it,” Renard was quoted as saying.
“It is the best offer I have had so far, the rest didn’t suit me.”
After the move to bring in German coach Bruno Labbadia fell through, the football federation has settled for its technical director Austin Eguavoen as the interim coach. Eguavoen oversaw Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against the Republic of Benin and Rwanda last month.
The Eagles beat the Cheetahs 3-0 in Uyo and played out a 0-0 draw in Kigali with the Amavubi. The 59-year-old will be in charge of the back-to-back clashes with The Mediterranean Knights of Libya this month.
