It is rather rare for a manager to come and say goodbye after a separation from his professional team, but Olivier Renard was not going to miss this opportunity.
The former vice-president and head of sports management of CF Montreal looked back on his nearly five years with the club on Friday in front of around twenty media. A sign that he obviously left no one indifferent.
A week ago to the day, Gabriel Gervais, the president and CEO of Bleu-blanc-noir, announced that it was strategic differences that forced the team to mutually cut ties with Renard . The latter hesitated to repeat Gervais’ words, insisting on the fact that the philosophy did not seem to have changed in his eyes.
Renard, however, acknowledged that some changes within the athletic department in 2022 have quietly frayed the relationship between the two parties, although there is no animosity at present.
The 44-year-old Belgian indicated that he always enjoyed the Montreal training project, despite a structure and a budget which did not always give him the latitude to work as he wished.
From the outside, the rag seemed to start burning when rumors of a trade request from Quebecer Mathieu Choinière surfaced a few weeks ago, but Renard refused to make this situation the starting point. However, he declared that Choinière represented the project he tried to establish within the Bleu-blanc-noir.
Under his tutelage, Montreal had a dream season in 2022, breaking several team records and a few MLS ones. They missed the playoffs in the final game of the season in 2021 and 2023.
Renard was seen at Saputo Stadium on Saturday, when CF Montreal took on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, and again on Wednesday, when Wilfried Nancy and the Columbus Crew were in town. He said he was a fan of the team and wished them every success.
2024-05-17 16:04:30
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