International Football
NIGERIA, ARGENTINA MATCH MAY WITNESS LOW TURNOUT
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
The 34,291 capacity Krasnodar Stadium may not be filled to capacity when the Super Eagles take on their familiar World Cup opponents, Argentina, in a friendly match on Tuesday, Sports Village Square gathered that the cheapest ticket fee for the match is 600 rubbles, the Russian currency.
The confirmed absence of Lionel Messi from the game is believed to have taken some shine off the encounter of the two teams that have always almost clashed in every World Cup tournament they both qualified for.
The only World Cup tournament the two did not meet was the France ’98 when Paraguay was the South American team that fell into the Super Eagles group.
This will be the second time Nigeria national team will be playing in Russian territory after getting a ‘wild card’ to feature in the football event of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 following the withdrawal of Ghana that originally qualified.
The Flying Eagles also played in the 1985 World Youth Championship (now U-20 World Cup) in old Soviet Union.
A source in Russia informed Sports Village Square that the absence of the iconic Messi has taken a shine from the hitherto high profile encounter. “Messi is the player most people in Krasnodar want to see. Only the Moscow fans have had the opportunity of beholding the global star”, remarked the source.
Messi was to leave Russia after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat of the hosts on Saturday.
The Argentina Football Association official twitter handle revealed that Messi remarked that he had to stay out of the Nigerian match because “Sampaoli (Jorge Luis Sampaoli, the Argentina manager) regulated me a little bit and that I won’t play in the game against Nigeria.”
Sampaoli is excluding Messi based on the agreement he had with FC Barcelona.
Messi is not strange in encounters involving Nigeria having featured at almost every competition level except the under 17.
He was in the squad that beat Nigeria in the final match of the 2005 under 20 World Cup in the Netherlands. Three years later, he also laid the pass with which Angel di Maria beat Nigeria in the final match of the 2008 Beijing Olympic football event.
Twice he had faced Nigeria in the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. He was also in the Argentina side that beat Nigeria 3-1in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2011.
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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