International Football
RONALDO AND CO AGREE PAY CUT DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
Juventus players and coach Maurizio Sarri have reached an agreement over a wage reduction that will save the Italian champions €90 million (S$140 million) in the 2019/2020 financial year, the Serie A club announced on Saturday (March 28).
Sarri and the players have agreed to what amounts to a four-month pay cut to help the Italia champions during the coronavirus crisis.
The agreement comes at a time when leading clubs around Europe have had to slash wage bills because of the dramatic impact of matches having to be postponed or played behind closed doors due to the spread of the virus.
“The economic and financial effects of the understanding reached are positive for about €90 million for the 2019/2020 financial year,” Juventus said in a statement on Saturday.
“The understanding provides for the reduction of the compensation for an amount equal to the monthly payments of March, April, May and June 2020”, it added, saying personal agreements with Sarri and the players will be finalised in the coming weeks.
The Turin-based club, in one of the regions hit hardest by the crisis, have suffered in recent weeks with three of their players having tested positive for the virus – forward Paulo Dybala, defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Soccer around the world has been brought to a standstill by the pandemic and Italy’s top-fight Serie A has been suspended since March 9.
Italy has seen the highest number of deaths in any country from the virus so far.
HEALTH EMERGENCY
“Juventus Football Club announces that, due to the current global health emergency (which) is preventing the performance of the sporting activity, it has reached an understanding with the players and the coach of the First Team regarding their compensation for the residual portion of the current sport season,” the statement said.
“The understanding provides for the reduction of the compensation for an amount equal to the monthly wages of March, April, May and June 2020.
“In the coming weeks, personal agreements with the players and the coach will be finalised, as required by the current regulations.
“Should the current season’s matches be rescheduled, the Club will negotiate in good faith with the players and the coach conditional increases of compensation according to the actual resumption and finalisation of official competitions.
“Juventus would like to thank the players and the coach for their commitment at a difficult time for everyone.”
Long-standing player Giorgio Chiellini is understood to have led the players’ negotiations amid reports in the Italian media that Cristiano Ronaldo had agreed to sacrifice €3.8 million of his yearly wage to ease the financial burden on the club while Italy is in lockdown.
The agreement comes the day after leading Spanish club Atletico Madrid took the decision to cut the wages of their staff, including the players, to ease the financial burden on the club.
Atletico joined La Liga rivals Barcelona, who imposed a compulsory wage reduction on their players during the period of lockdown after Spain became the second-most affected country by the coronavirus in Europe behind Italy.
-Reuters
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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