International Football
Aisha Buhari Cup: Black Queens render Lionesses pointless in 2-0 defeat

The buzz of the maiden edition of Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Tournament got even wider and louder on Monday as the Secretary General of world football –governing body, FIFA, Mrs Fatma Samoura led football’s dignitaries to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Lagos Island for Day 5 of the showpiece.
In the event, it was another very entertaining evening which ended with Ghana appropriating all the spoils in a 2-0 defeat of the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon, which ensured the latter ended the tournament without a point and without scoring a goal.
Losers to the Atlas Lionesses from Morocco on Day 2, the Lionesses came out strong to make something out of this showpiece staged in honour of Nigeria’s First Lady, but a determined Ghana erected an impregnable wall at the back and mounted onslaught after onslaught at the fore, with Vivian Konadu, Elizabeth Owusuaa, Princella Adubea and Nina Norshie delighting the crowd with their skills and invention.
The damage could have invariably been greater if not for the alertness and agility of Cameroon’s goalkeeper Gabrielle Bawow Ange.
With an admirable warrior in the person of Captain Portia Boakye at the rear and launching attacks with her long thrusts, Ghana settled quickly into the game and Adubea, a picture of pace and power, coming close as early as the 7th minute.
Cameroon’s Aboudi Onguene churned out a number of interesting crosses from the left flank, which went begging for utilization. In the 20th minute, on the counter, Nina Norshie bent the ball too much as she closed in on goal and Cameroon again got momentary respite.
Claudia Dabaa came close to scoring against the run of play in the 27th minute, but her jab from a corner kick was intercepted by Gladys Amfobea with goalkeeper Dumehasi Fafali at sea.
Ten minutes later, Bawow Ange invented a reflex save that stopped Konadu’s bullet header from going in, and two minutes before recess, Adubea’s ferocious shot from the edge of the box was parried for a corner.
In the second half, Adubea, ever a handful, escaped the offside trap and schemed past the goalkeeper but the ball drifted away. However, on the hour mark, the nifty forward teased two defenders and scored by chipping the ball to the goalkeeper’s blind side from a counter-attack.
Boakye, bulwark at the rear and threatening going forward, tested the goalkeeper with a chip from 20 yards that drifted narrowly wide in the 73rd minute, and nine minutes later, Cameroon’s Bella Rose shot sky-high right inside the six-yard box.
A minute to full time, Adubea, left to her own device on another quick counter, found Konadu, who took on three defenders drifting into a shooting position before firing past hapless Bawow Ange.
Cameroon finished the tournament on a big low, but Ghana would be happy to have put behind them the horrendous 3-0 trouncing by South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on Day 3.
International Football
Guinea names Portugal’s Duarte as new national coach

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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International Football
Veteran coach Van Gaal says he is cured of cancer

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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International Football
Like father like son, Davide Ancelotti becomes Brazil’s Botafogo manager

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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