International Football
NIGERIA BEGIN RETURN JOURNEY TO THE OLYMPICS
Nigeria’s U-23 football squad begins their journey to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this Wednesday afternoon as they face Libya in Tunisia. The match is the first leg of a double encounter that will lead to the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in which Nigeria are the cup holders.
African qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics will emerge at the tournament. No fewer than five former FIFA Under-17 World Cup winners are in the provisional squad.
Coach Imama Amapakabo, an assistant to Super Eagles Franco-German trainer, Gernot Rohr who is currently saddled with the responsibility of managing the Olympic Eagles, has called up defender Chigozie Obazi who was among the goals when Nigeria won her fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup title in 2013 in the UAE.
Also on the 33-man provisional list are four players from the Golden Eaglets that won the country’s fifth record FIFA U-17 World Cup title in Chile in 2015. The quartet drawn from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) include goalkeeper Amos Benjamin who is attached to Bayelsa United; Lobi Stars defending duo of John Lazarus and Anumudu Udochukwu as well as enterprising midfielder Chukwudi Agor who had the singular honour of scoring Nigeria’s first goal at Chile 2015 with blistering shot in the 2-1 defeat of USA.
Other youth internationals include defender Mohammed Annas of Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan who played four years ago with the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 African Cup of Nations in Niger as well as free-scoring striker Wasiu Alalade who impressed with Enyimba FC during last year’s Total CAF Confederation Cup.
Nigeria won the last edition of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations held only for the second time in Senegal four years ago following a 2-1 win over Algeria at the Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar.
Meanwhile, the Amapakabo-led side would begin their campaign for the third edition of the quadrennial championship to be held in Egypt between November 8th and 22nd with an away tie in Tunisia which is the adopted home of Libya on the week of 20th -22nd March while the second leg would be held a week later.
Amapakabo, a former Nigeria international goalkeeper, would be assisted by the duo of Kennedy Boboye and Fidelis Ilechukwu as well as Etta Egbe as the goalkeepers’ trainer.
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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