International Football
Nigeria, African Teams Hold Confederations Cup Records
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Besides Cameroon, though in tragic circumstances getting to the final of FIFA Confederations Cup, African teams may not have made great impact, yet they find themselves in the competition’s record books.
Sports Village Square had earlier reported that until last Saturday when Russia beat New Zealand 2-0, Nigeria’s late Amodu Shaibu was the youngest coach at 36 years and 263 days to have guided a team at the competition.
New Zealand’s Anthony Hudson at 36 years and 96 days has now rested the record in the 0-2 loss to Russia on Saturday.
But if it is considered that Nigeria won its opening match of the 1995 competition when Super Eagles beat Japan 3-0, Amodu then remains the youngest coach to have won a FIFA Confederation match!
Sports Village Square recalls Nigeria’s Nnamdi Oduamadi becoming the first African to score a hat trick when the Super Eagles beat Tahiti 6-1 at the Brazil 2013 edition in Belo Horizonte. It could also be added that a match involving Nigeria also featured the oldest scorer in Confederations Cup.
When on June 20, 2013 Nigeria lost 1-2 to Uruguay in Salvador, Brazil, Uruguay’s Diego at age 34 years and 32 days beat the record of oldest scorer in the competition by just four day after Italy’s Andrea Pirlo had earlier set the record.
Both Pirlo and Forlan were born on the same date, but Forlan scoring four days after Pirlo’s gave him the edge. Coincidentally, it was also Forlan’s 100th match.
There are still more African influences in the Confederations Cup. When on this day, June 18 in 2005, Tunisia took on Germany, Tunisia’s goalkeeper; Ali Boumnijel became the oldest player in the history of the FIFA Confederations Cup. He was 39 years and two months.
On this same day eight years ago, the match involving Egypt became the 100th match in the history of the FIFA Confederation Cup. Egypt won the milestone match, 1-0 against Italy thereby becoming the first African team to defeat Italy (the second team to do so were Côte d’Ivoire in 2010).
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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