International Football
‘Get used to it’ – women’s football is the future, says Barca’s Oshoala
Female football is the future, Barcelona’s four times African footballer of the year Asisat Oshoala told Reuters as her side look to cap a dream year by beating Lyon in the women’s Champions League final in Turin on Saturday.
After scoring 20 goals in 19 games this season to help Barcelona win the Spanish league with a perfect 30 wins from 30 games, Oshoala is excited about the growth of the sport.
Barca broke the women’s attendance record twice in their last two Champions League home games, with 91,648 fans turning up to see them thrash Wolfsburg 5-1 in their semi-final first leg on April 22.
That broke the previous women’s attendance record, set three weeks before when 91,553 flocked to Camp Nou for Barcelona’s showdown with Real Madrid.
“This is amazing to see in women’s soccer and I think this is just the beginning. You’re just going to have to get used to it,” Oshoala told Reuters.
“Getting used to it because we are tired of those things that people used to say about women’s soccer, all the prejudice.
“Interest is growing, we’ve got more fans at the stadium, selling jerseys and more viewers on television. Like I’ve always said to people, female football is the future. You will have to get used to it.”
Nigeria’s Oshoala, 27, is Africa’s most decorated female footballer, scoring at two World Cups and in a Champions League final — a late consolation in Barca’s 4-1 defeat to Lyon in 2019 — and the first woman from the continent to claim Spain’s golden boot.
Yet she experienced a roundabout route to soccer’s elite.
She was nearly denied the opportunity to play by her parents who considered soccer so unsuitable for their daughter that they banned her from playing on the street with her friends.
Because of her struggles, in 2018 she set up the Asisat Oshoala Foundation to help young girls from around Africa pursue careers in sport.
“It’s been amazing, I think all the time about my journey. I thought about the things I’ve been through as a young girl growing up, the difficulties trying to convince my parents and also not having so much opportunity in my environment.
“I know that this same situation is still happening with girls all over the world and I just try to do my part… I know how difficult it was for me growing up. So, I just try to create more opportunities for these girls.”
Oshoala will have the opportunity on Saturday to gain revenge for that loss to Lyon three years ago and she believes the team is ready to retain the title they won by beating Chelsea in the final last season.
“Being confident for the final is it’s about the team and we have the greatest,” Oshoala said.
“Winning the Champions League last year with Barca was the highlight of my career I want to do it again.”
-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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