International Football
Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar Jostle for FIFA Player of the Year
Expectedly, the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo and his long-time rival for FIFA’s top individual award Lionel Messi alongside PSG player, Neymar have been shortlisted for The Best FIFA Football Awards holding in London next month.
In the women’s category, it is also a return to the top table for The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2016 Carli Lloyd, who remains in the running alongside 18-year-old Venezuelan prodigy Deyna Castellanos and Netherlands and Barça star Lieke Martens.
There’s a distinct sentimento italiano in the list of The Best FIFA Men’s Coach finalists, with former Juventus player and 2016 finalist Zinedine Zidane in the final three once more, while the Italian duo of Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and former Gli Azzurri midfielder Antonio Conte both make their debut in the list of finalists. It’s a totally new top three for The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, with Denmark’s Nils Nielsen, Olympique Lyonnais coach Gerard Precheur and the Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman all finalists for the first time.
Other highlights from friday’s announcement in London, with FIFA Legends Roberto Di Matteo, Jay Jay Okocha, Alex Scott, Andriy Shevchenko and Peter Shilton in attendance, saw the nominees for the inaugural The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award announced. Gianluigi Buffon, Keylor Navas and Manuel Neuer make up the first ever shortlist for the award recognising the game’s top custodians.
Also, the ten candidates for the FIFA Puskás Award and the three finalists for the FIFA Fan Award were revealed – with voting now open to fans across the world.
The Best announcement in full
Men’s Player
* Cristiano Ronaldo (POR / Real Madrid)
* Lionel Messi (ARG – FC Barcelona)
* Neymar (BRA – FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Player
* Deyna Castellanos (VEN – Santa Clarita Blue Heat/Florida State Seminoles)
* Carli Lloyd (USA – Houston Dash/Manchester City Women)
* Lieke Martens (NED – FC Barcelona Femeni)
Men’s Coach
* Massimiliano Allegri (ITA – Juventus)
* Antonio Conte (ITA – Chelsea)
* Zinedine Zidane (FRA – Real Madrid)
Women’s Coach
* Nils Nielsen (DEN – Danish national team)
* Gerard Precheur (FRA – Olympique Lyonnais Feminin)
* Sarina Wiegman (NED – Netherlands national team)
Goalkeeper
* Gianluigi Buffon (ITA – Juventus)
* Keylor Navas (CRC – Real Madrid)
* Manuel Neuer (GER – FC Bayern Munich)
Puskas Award
* Kevin-Prince Boateng (Las Palmas)
* Alejandro Camargo (Universidad de Concepcion)
* Deyna Castellanos (Venezuela U-17)
* Moussa Dembele (Celtic)
* Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
* Aviles Hurtado (Tijuana Xolos)
* Mario Mandzukic (Juventus)
* Oscarine Masuluke (Baroka FC)
* Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)
* Jordi Mboula (FC Barcelona U-19)
Fan Award
* Borussia Dortmund supporters
* Celtic supporters
* FC Copenhagen supporters
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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