International Football
Germany’s Joachim Löw Would Have Been Fired in Africa
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
One of the major highlights of the on-going FIFA Confederations Cup was the Germany versus Cameroon fixture on Sunday. What has taken the attention is not the fact that Nigeria’s next competitive opponents, Cameroon, were only able to get a point out of the obtainable nine in the competition.
It is the stability that German football enjoys. Sports Village Square recalls that in 117 years, the German football governing body has had just 13 presidents. When Germany faced Cameroon on Sunday, the match was 150th under Joachim Löw as manager. He has been on the saddle since July 12, 2006 when he succeeded his boss, Jürgen Klinsmann.
On Sunday, he also had his 100th victory as the manager of the German side. In comparison, the Belgian Hugo Broos who is handling Cameroon is the team’s 12th manager since 2006.
Nigeria’s case is not better, Sports Village Square investigation reveals. Gernot Rohr is the ninth coach to handle the Super Eagles since 2006. Even then, some of those coaches had two or three short term tenures.
It amounts to a tall dream to think a coach handling Nigeria or an African team will have 150 matches as Joachim Löw has had with Germany. The coach with the highest number of matches with the Nigerian team was Amodu Shaibu who had 53 matches across four tenures.
He was just a match ahead of Clemens Westerhof who had 52 matches from 1989 to 1994. The same statistics abound in various African national teams. Since 2006, Ghana has had nine coaches while South Africa reportedly is having its 10th.
It is almost certain that when the curtain falls on the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers on November 6, at least half of the 20 coaches handling the teams that are currently in the race will lose their jobs.
Certainly, had Germany’s Joachim Löw taken a job in Africa, he would have been fired several times.
Hence, only mercenary European coaches ventured into Africa. No one will be patient enough for you to breathe your football philosophy into a team. When you lose a match, your job is already at stake.
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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