Her wild hair, her dark complexion and her imposing height (1.87 meters) make Wendie Renard a footballer hard to forget. The Olympique de Lyon player is considered one of the best centre-backs in the world and, at 31, she is already a club legend. She is the only footballer who has exceeded one hundred games in the Champions League (101) and this Saturday she will play her tenth final. Together with Bouhaddi and Le Sommer, she holds the record for the number of titles she has with her, nothing more and nothing less, than seven Champions in her showcase.
Born in Martinique, in the French West Indies, in 1990, Renard grew up in an isolated region in the north of the island an hour away from any other town. “The end of the world” the natives affectionately call this corner of the Caribbean. His childhood was spent between swimming on the beach and playing football on the sand, trying to emulate Ronaldinho, the footballer who most inspired Renard, perhaps because of the cheerful, almost Caribbean way with which the Brazilian genius moved on The grass.
Despite her exotic origin, her story is very similar to that of Barça players like Alexia or Aitana. They also called her a tomboy at school, they marginalized her and her teacher even snapped at her that she couldn't say that she wanted to be a soccer player when she grew up because "that profession doesn't exist."
As he grew older, his football skills did not go unnoticed and his coach arranged for him to try out at Clairefontaine, the French Federation training centre. He took a plane to Paris and there he saw for the first time that there were other girls playing soccer. And how they played! She was not chosen, but her mentor did not give up and she got her another test, this time at Olympique de Lyon. The rest is history.
Renard arrived at the Lyon club at the age of 16 and it did not take long for him to become essential both in the team and in all categories of the powerful French team. His unusual size made her an insurmountable wall on defense, and the most feared striker from set pieces. 27 of the 29 goals scored by the Caribbean soccer player in Europe have been headed.
With its recent renewal until 2024, when it will be 34 years old, Lyon ensures the continuity of a legend who has become the highest paid player in the French league.
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