Renard the exception to the rule for sack-happy Saudis

Every rule has an exception and it seems that Herve Renard was the outlier for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - a coach allowed to leave the national team job on his own terms with his reputation enhanced.

Little more than four months after overseeing possibly the greatest upset in World Cup history, the 54-year-old is packing his bags and heading home to guide France at this year's Women's World Cup.

The highlight of his spell in charge was undoubtedly that heady night in Qatar last November when the Saudis stunned eventual winners Argentina 2-1 in their opening match at the first World Cup held in the Arab world.

What followed after the euphoria of that victory was more familiar fare for Saudi football fans, however, losses to Poland and Mexico and departure from the tournament in the group stage.

Remarkably, though, the Saudi federation did not immediately fire the Frenchman.

Coaches have never enjoyed much job security in Saudi Arabia and the SAFF has been known to replace them even in the midst of a tournament.

Renard took over Saudi Arabia in July 2019, and if he had seen out his contract in 2027 he would have been the longest serving national team coach in the country's history.

As it is, he enjoyed the longest spell of the dozens of coaches who have taken charge of the Green Falcons since Egyptian Abdul-Rahman Fawzi in the 1950s and early 1960s.

'IMMORTAL' MATCH

His departure, when it came on Tuesday, was amicable. An approach by the French Football Federation to the Saudis, a legal agreement over his contract, and even a farewell video to fans on the SAFF Twitter account.

"We achieved great success in the qualifiers, we topped the group ahead of Japan and Australia, and we qualified for the World Cup,"