International Football
Couple are covering Qatar 2022 World Cup as rivals
Every World Cup I have covered appears to present some form of human interest stories among journalists who ordinarily are news gatherers and not newsmakers.
But somehow, they managed to become newsmakers. In my first coverage of the World Cup, I met a certain Luis Alfredo Sciutto, a Uruguayan journalist whose pen name was Diego Lucero.
At the time, he was known as the only man, not just journalist, to have attended all the 15 editions of the World Cup from 1930 to 1990. he was aged 89. I met him again at the USA ‘94 at the Foxboro Stadium in Boston.
The 1994 edition was his last as he passed on the following year on 3 June, aged 94. Eight years ago in Brazil, I met another legend, Hiroshi Kagawa who had covered virtually all World Cup editions from West Germany 1974 to Brazil 2014. He only missed the South Africa 2010 on account of ill-health.
At Brazil 2014, he was 89 and the oldest journalist on duty. At Qatar 2022, I have seen, for the first time, a couple covering the World Cup as journalists!
Two Indian journalists sat apart on the same table at the Main Media Centre in Doha. Nothing to indicate that they were in anyway connected. But a casual chat with the lady, Susmita Gangopadhyay who is covering the World Cup for the second time was very revealing.
Another journalist who sat some distance and in opposite direction is her husband. He is Munal Chattopadhyay.
I asked the man why they sat apart. “On duty, we are rivals…writing for different newspapers in India…”
They strike the need to maintain professional ethics of not spying in each others works especially since they are covering the World Cup for diffewrent newspapers.
The man writes for Aajkalal while his wife is for Uttarbanga Samihad. In this edition of the World Cup, it appears they are the only set of couple journalists.
Munai is having his fifth appearance at the World Cup in a career that has spanned 34 years, 28 of which are at his current newpspaper. But his two-cap World Cup journalist wife has been on duty for 17 years.
Both met on the job at Times of India. Susmita was then on attachment as a freelance journalist in 2001. When they got married, Susmita had to move from the newspaper for career development elsewhere.
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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