#you thought I was done beefing with nutcase stans? No!! I will never change!!!!

[redwineconversation]

Wendie Renard OL Feminin Contract Extension Interview (September 2, 2024)

I'll save the fucking van de Donk nutcase stans the time and say Renard does not talk about van de Donk in this interview. For the life of me I do not understand frothing at the mouth over a player to the point of inserting yourself into conversations between two individuals you don't even know. To paraphrase Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, it's weird and creepy. So for the love of god please step outside, take a nice long deep breath of fresh air, and contemplate being a normal person who doesn't stalk football players. I refuse to believe it is that much of an ask.

I could write entire dissertations on why Renard is my favorite Bad Catholic such a good captain. I also find the dynamics between Renard and Lyon players, past and present, absolutely fascinating. It's cool! It's interesting! And you get it by watching them play instead of stalking them on social media! Renard is the only person in the world who can look at Hegerberg and say "don't" and Hegerberg backs down immediately. How can you not find that cool and interesting? Lyon, the story of a dynasty built by a ruthless tyrant and her loyal mercenary only to be destroyed by academy players.

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; as the song goes this heat wave IS freaking me out @OL Comms pls save me and my AC bill; the way some of you refuse to practice basic social etiquette honestly concerns me; y'all know the speech by now.

Interview was posted on Youtube but I am still transcribing it because what is love if not avoiding doing the dishes self-loathing?

WENDIE RENARD CONTRACT EXTENSION INTERVIEW

Renard: "I feel good. After, my contract wasn't ending either. The decision to extend for one year was made for various reasons which will stay between the club and myself because that's the way it is. We keep things confidential even if the ownership has changed. I know what this club has given me. I know where I've come from. Beyond that, the ambition is still there, it's to remain at the highest level and at the top. So the adventure will continue for one more year. It will have been 21 [years.]"

Renard: "This is home. The balance has shifted. I left Martinique at 16, I'm going to be 34, the balance has tipped. It's even reversed. Beyond that, I've already said it, I'm the person that I am because of the values my parents have taught me. I'm someone who is very thankful. It's why there have been a lot of discussions with the club for a while. I've always been honest and open with them. And the objective was - in any case, I know that for me I know where I came from. I know it wasn't easy and that if it hadn't been for my first coach, Farid Benstiti who said yes to taking a chance on me, I would be in Martinique and I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you. So yeah, it's a good story. But obviously there were others. I met others who were exceptional people, people who work here, President Jean-Michel Aulas, practically his entire team, even staff, players who have left. We created a real connection, it's a family. I'm far from my family myself. There is more than 8,000 km. So at a certain point when you arrive and you find a new family here, it allows you to develop even more as a player and to grow even more."

Renard: "There was a new owner coming in, we didn't know her ambitions, we didn't know what her expectations were for the women's team. We heard a lot of things in the press about us. So there was bit of unease. Then after having talked with the new boss [Michele Kang], she put forth the project she wanted for us. She's an inspirational woman, she's someone who wants to give women a chance in various domains. So it's important. It's important. Beyond that, the project is long-term. I don't think I will be a part of it as a player. It's important for me as a player to keep that identity of always wanting to win, to always show the values this club has. So that's also why the contract extension happened."

Renard: 'Even if the ownership changed, we have a new boss, it's important for me to keep the [Lyon] DNA. It's that DNA which has allowed us to win this many titles, no matter the players on the field, no matter the staff. I've shared a lot on the field with a lot of players. So for me it's important to continue. Beyond that, I'm more towards the end [of my career] than the beginning. I'm also in a transition phase with the new generation coming up, even if I have always done that. But beyond that - well, the adventure continues. And we mainly have to win titles."

Renard: "I hear a lot of things about myself, when they talk about Lyon they also talk about me. But it's not me - I didn't make Olympique Lyonnais Feminin. We already had a president, I know I said this before, but he was someone who really believed in us since 2004 when he merged the women's section with what was FC Lyon at the time. So the story started back then. Then there were different generations, different players who left a mark for this club. I'm still here, I can't leave. [laughs] But it also shows my consistency in terms of me as a person. I've always been someone who has talked about the team because I play a team sport. It shows my consistency. I think that it's been like that for while. It's still a business, it's become a real business. You have to perform well because results are expected of us. If I wasn't performing well I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you today."

Renard: "No, like I said, it's nice to have extended. As I said, there are a lot of projects coming up in the upcoming years, as much for the new generation and making them understand, well, it's not just because we're at Lyon and that we have won this many titles, that doesn't matter. What matters is what we have to go win. You have to throw yourself into it, you have to fight. You have to work hard because it's not handed to you. You don't win just because."

Renard: "I don't forget my role as a player either. As I said, you have to perform well because that's the only way you will get the respect from your teammates, and everyone's respect. But I've always been - even when I arrived here when I was really young - I learned from others. I've always been someone who watched, who observed. Because as I learned from older players when I was starting out, it's become natural both in my role with the team, I became captain under Patrice Lair. Obviously that allowed me to grow as a person, as a player and especially as a woman. So it became natural for me. And I also think it's logical. As I said to the younger players, if I can help you grow up 2-3 years, that's non-negotiable."

Renard: "We often talk about the highs but there have also been some defeats which really, really hurt. But in any case Lyon's achievements, like I said, many, many players have come through Lyon, a lot of staff. We didn't do it by ourselves, we did it together. You need the team as a whole to win. The season is very long. There are highs and lows in a season. We've seen that the last few years. Injuries, a lot of things can happen. It's really important everyone stays focused on the objectives we fix for ourselves at the beginning of the season because - and I keep repeating myself - that's what we work for. And at the end, when you started from zero and you manage to win trophies, well you can only be happy and satisfied."

Renard: "Yes, it's become harder and harder. But we've wanted that for a while. But it's become harder and harder because the teams are becoming stronger especially in terms of the staff, the physical preparation. Before - and I'm thinking of a few games - by the 60th, maybe 70th minute we were really overpowering the other team. But today they can hold their own. Women's football has progressed, it has really moved forwarded. It's good news for the future. It's all we want. And that's why individually as well you have to do everything to change shall we say the "method of working" as an individual because while we do the team work together, we can't just rely on the practice sessions at the club anymore. It's that simple. There are so many demands [on your body] around the sport that you have to do everything possible to be ready physically for whatever challenge you face."

Renard: "In any case you always remember what happened in the past, especially when it hurt. The past can make you come back even stronger. But then, even when it's going well, there's always things to change. But you're experiencing euphoria so you're savoring it. But there's always something to change because from one season to the next, well, it's not the same thing. The intensity grows. And for me as an athlete, I've always aimed high, I've always set the bar high in terms of expectations. First for myself, I'm someone who is very demanding of myself. For me it's really important to keep that, it's something that you need to improve on a daily basis. There's always areas, you're always learning no matter your age. Sometimes I hear "well at a certain age-" No. You're always learning no matter your age. Because - well once again, we have a new coach, new staff. So this year I am going to be learning a lot [mainly how much the academy kids suck] because the expectations are different, they might ask things of us which are different from previous years [like letting fucking academy kids play competitive games]. So you learn no matter your age. It requires a lot of self-reflection, it requires a lot of analysis from my part. From everyone as well. But in any case I am someone who is very demanding so I try to put myself in the best position to perform individually and then the team follows the example."

Renard: "I find it really interesting, the fact that there is a structure really focused on taking care of women's bodies. Because once again all the studies, everything that was done in the past, was done on men. Of course even at the time I think it helped, for me personally it really helped because when I arrived here, well, Patrice [Lair, former head coach] was doing everything like with the men. Now I was young so it was okay, but today, with all the years that have gone past, you say to yourself maybe there were things that we did that have consequences on our bodies now. So to have structures which are really focused on development, on research, focused on women, on things like our periods and the affects those have on injuries, shoes, analysis, etc. I think that's really informative. And me, I - I'm really eager to see what happens next because she [Michele Kang] is really someone who wants to given women the opportunity in various domains and we'll see what happens next. For the moment I think it's more the board who is in charge of the project. There's the academy project, wanting to have our own pitch, wanting to have a facility just for us. I don't think there are a lot like that in the world. I don't there are a lot of presidents who would do that, even if we couldn't complain here because President Aulas wanted to give us the opportunities as the men. And we have the same opportunities as the men. So those are things which are in the continuity of women's football."

Renard: "Yeah, it's Michele [Kang]'s project. We can see it in any case with her desire to have several clubs on various continents. So, yeah. It's a project. It's her own project. But in any case today at Olympique Lyonnais, I think what we need to is maintain the high standards on an individual and collective level to win titles but especially compete for titles. We have to win. We have to win and I think - last year we won one title out of three [won French league; lost UWCL final; lost Coupe de France semi-final]. It's - it's a review. We won some titles, but I think we could have won others. Now, it's like I said earlier, you have to ask yourself the right questions regarding the defeats we've had and why we didn't win the titles: "Why?" "What was missing?" So many questions. Obviously it's up to the technical staff as well, but also there is a new staff who came in. So some questions will be different. But I think as a player, you have to analyze what happened in the UWCL final, why didn't we win? Those are all things we need to do in order to move forward and come back stronger. Why not win more titles this year?"