International Football
COME OVER TO AGEGE AND HELP US, AMAPAKABO CRIES OUT TO FANS
It is undoubtedly a huge
task for the home-based Super Eagles as they confront a team that has beaten
them twice within a week.
They have a deficit of
three goals to wipe off while also maintaining a clean sheet at the rear. Coach
Imama Amapakabo who led the squad to face Togo in the two encounters last month
appears to know the enormity of the task he faces this Saturday.
According to a media release by the Nigeria Football Federation, he has called on football –loving Nigerians to turn out en masse and support the Eagles massively as they battle the Sparrow Hawks of Togo at the Agege Stadium.
The CHAN 2020 second leg qualifying match is a game Nigeria must win by at least 3-0 to scale through to the finals billed for Cameroon next year summer, and the former goalkeeper says what the team needs to achieve the ultimate goal is total backing from Nigerians.
“We have done what we need to do for the work at hand. We have learnt a lot going into this encounter and we are very optimistic everything will turn out well.
“What we cannot provide for ourselves is support. And that is why we are asking for full support and understanding all through the game. The players need every show of love for optimal output on the pitch.”
The Eagles had their last intensive training at the venue of the match on Friday morning as the rains showered across Lagos. The session lasted from 8am through 10am.
Nigeria lost by 4-1 to Togo in the first game played last month in Lome despite scoring first and taking good control of the match for a major part of the 90 minutes. Since the first game, eight new players who were not in Lome have joined the team and this has given the team better colouring and a lot more positive charge.
The aggregate winner of the two-legged fixture will qualify for the African Nations Championship to be hosted by Cameroon next year.
Nigeria is hoping to qualify and finish better than their silver medal outing in Morocco last year while the Togolese are looking for a first berth at the continental competition designed solely for professionals featuring in their domestic leagues.
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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