International Football
Former Nigeria target, Renard back in charge of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has reappointed Frenchman Herve Renard as manager to replace Roberto Mancini, the Gulf country’s national team announced on Saturday.
Nigeria had struggled to sign Renard as a replacement for Finidi George who resigned last June as the Super Eagles’ head coach.
But the efforts failed, even after waiting for Renard to complete his assignment as the coach of the French women’s team at Paris 2024.
The 56-year-old, who was in charge of the Saudis from 2019 to 2023, takes over from Italian Mancini who left the position as Saudi Arabia coach on Thursday by mutual agreement after 14 months in the job.
“I am back,” Renard, clad in Saudi traditional costume, said in a video published on the Saudi national team’s X social media account.
According to Reuters, Renard’s contract runs until the end of 2025 with an option to extend through the 2027 Asian Cup, the team said in a statement.
Renard had left his job with the Saudis to lead France’s women’s team at the World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I did not intend to leave. But when your country knock on your door, you have to respond,” he said in the video.
During his first spell, he led Saudi Arabia to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they surprisingly beat eventual champions Argentina in their opener.
“I did not finish my story with Saudi yet. And thank God, I am back,” added the Frenchman.
He will resume his duties with the Saudis on Oct. 27, with their next World Cup qualifiers away to Australia and Indonesia in November kicking off his second stint, the team added.
Saudi Arabia are third in Group C of Asia’s third round of World Cup preliminaries with five points. They are five points adrift of group leaders Japan after four matches.
They lost 2-0 at home to Japan on Oct. 10 before being held to a scoreless draw by Bahrain five days later.
The top two in each group advance automatically to the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed sides go into another round of preliminaries with the bottom two finishers eliminated.
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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