International Football
PERU’S CAPTAIN AND TOP SCORER BANNED FROM WORLD CUP
Peru, the last team to make it to Russia 2018 has become the first of the 32 World Cup teams to be visited with disciplinary action.
The team’s World Cup hopes were dealt a huge blow when captain and all-time record goal scorer, Paolo Guerrero was banned for one year on Friday after failing an anti-doping test for cocaine.
According to Reuters, the 33-year-old striker, who plays for Flamengo in Brazil, had been provisionally suspended by world governing body FIFA after the drug, classified as a stimulant, was found in his system after Peru’s 0-0 draw away to Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in October.
“The player tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine, a substance included in WADA’s 2017 Prohibited List under the class ‘S6. Stimulants’, following a doping control test conducted after the match,” FIFA said in a statement.
“By testing positive for a prohibited substance, the player has violated article 6 of the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations and, as such, contravened article 63 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
Peru qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1982 by beating New Zealand in a two-legged playoff. Guerrero missed both those matches.
His ban will be back-dated to November 3 and will apply to international, domestic and official friendly fixtures.
Guerrero, who used to play for German club Bayern Munich, made his international debut in 2004 and has 83 caps, scoring 32 goals.
He helped Peru finish third in the 2011 and 2015 Copa Americas and was leading scorer in both tournaments.
He also helped Brazilian club Corinthians win FIFA’s World Club Cup in 2012, scoring the winning goal in the final against Premier League side Chelsea.
He joined Flamengo in 2015 and has been prolific in front of goal, scoring 42 goals for the Rio de Janeiro club.
Peru are drawn in Group C of the World Cup along with France, Australia and Denmark. The two leaders of the group will draw their Round of 16 opposition from Nigeria’s Group D. Group Leader of Group D will face runners-up of Group C while the leader of Group C will face the second-placed team in Group D.
(Reporting by Martyn
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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