With her experience and her track record, you might think she’s older than she looks. But a little research on the Internet confirms that Wendie Renard is only 31 years old. From the generation of Mario Balotelli, Tony Kroos or Mamadou Sakho, the central defender is by far the one who has excelled the most, men and women alike. Fourteen titles of champion of France, nine Coupe de France, and nine finals of the Champions League disputed, including seven won, that indeed weighs heavily on the balance.
A formidable and dreaded player
This evening, at Groupama Stadium, in front of her home crowd, facing Paris, the captain of Olympique Lyonnais will guide her troops to get a 10e European final. But whatever the result, Wendie Renard will mark, whatever happens, this meeting. Because the moment she steps onto the lawn, armband on her arm, she will become the first woman to reach the bar of 100 appearances in the Champions League. A figure that will allow him to integrate a very closed circle: that of the forty-five footballers, to have at least reached this milestone.
A threshold reserved for exceptional players that the French could have crossed earlier if the format of the Champions League had from the start imitated that of the men’s competition. Because it must be remembered that the group stage, which increases the number of European matches played each year, was only introduced this year for women’s clubs.
L’ADN OL
For the Martiniquaise, it all started in 2007. At only 17 years old and for her first professional season, she made her European debut against the Slovak club FK Slovan Duslo Šala. Already, the central defender is decisive by scoring in the victory of hers (12-0). A habit that never leaves her. Fifteen European seasons later, Renard has scored 31 goals in 99 appearances. Her 1m87 make her a formidable and feared weapon on set pieces. Despite her defensive position, she is one of the twenty top scorers in the competition.
Beyond the statistics, it has above all been the strong link in Lyon’s ascent over the past twelve years. Of this golden generation, which equaled a 60-year-old Real Madrid record, only Eugénie Le Sommer and Sarah Bouhaddi remain today. The first two are no longer called up for the France team and are no longer essential in the club, while Renard and his insolent consistency remain unstoppable.
Captain in club and in selection, the 31-year-old player is the only defender to have been part, three times, of the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or (7e in 2018, 6e in 2019, 20e in 2021). She is even the only player, all positions combined, to be cited each time in the FIFPro women’s team of the year since its creation in 2015. One more proof, if necessary, that the boss costume European suits him very well.
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