If they didn’t have a goalkeeper, she’d be called up. She would watch them, collect the balls and, with boys her age, patiently wait her turn to join in. Older boys who played for local team Essor-Prechotain organised what were called “sweats”. When she was around five years old, Renard started kicking a ball with her friends in the car park next to her mother’s house. Her mother, uncles and aunts played football and handball and were keen swimmers. However, Diacre gave the armband back to Renard last September and tonight (Wednesday) the 32-year-old will lead her country against Germany in their first major tournament semi-final for 10 years. Eyebrows were raised again when Lyon stars Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer were left out of the squad for these Euros. Renard writes in her book, “Mon Etoile” (My Star), that Diacre said she was at “40 per cent of her capacity with the French team” and “perhaps the armband took up too much of her energy”.ĭiacre is still France’s coach, and her relationship with the squad has not always been easy. Her ability to maintain such a high level of performance for so long makes her one of the best players in the women’s game worldwide.Īnd yet a trophy with her national team eludes her.Īfter a quarter-final loss to England in Euro 2017, then-new coach Corinne Diacre stripped Renard of the captaincy. Over 16 years, the 6ft 2in (187cm) Renard has conquered Europe with French club Lyon: eight Champions League final wins, nine French Cups, 14 league titles, and six appearances in the FIFPro World XI since 2015. Renard was so angry with herself afterwards that she didn’t want to see her family but eventually made herself say hello to her cousins. It is the first time she has seen her play in the flesh since the 2019 World Cup.įrance were the hosts that year and among the favourites but lost 2-1 in the quarter-final to defending champions and eventual winners the United States. “I always said that Wendie was an athlete, even in my belly, because she was kicking all the time,” Marie-Helene tells The Athletic, sitting on a sofa in an Airbnb rental in the Yorkshire city of Doncaster, having flown over from the Caribbean to watch her daughter captain France at the ongoing Women’s European Championship. It turned out Renard had passed the pitch on the way to church and told the coach, “Put my name down - I’ll make the second half.” Marie-Helena shouted over but her daughter put a finger to her lips. There she was young Wendie herself, by now in full kit, playing a match. She went over, intrigued to see who else in their village shared a name with her daughter. As she passed the football pitch, within earshot of their house, she heard the name Wendie being shouted. Her daughter had already raced off as soon as mass finished. They are also joined in Group D by Belgium and Iceland.As Marie-Helena walked up the street to return home, she was alone. Les Bleues will play Cameroon and Vietnam in warm-up matches before their first Euro match against Italy on Sunday, 10 July.
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