International Football
VICTOR MOSES LOSES OUT AS FINAL SHORTLIST OF AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR IS UNVEILED
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria and Chelsea star player, Victor Moses has lost out in the race for the 2017 Africa Footballer of the Year. Confederation of African Football on Monday revealed the identities of the top three for all the categories of the Aiteo CAF Awards 2017 in Accra, Ghana.
Sports Village Square recalls that Nigeria’s Victor Moses who made the initial cut of five when the list was pruned from 30 to 11. At that stage, the other Nigerian shortlisted, central defender, William Troost-Ekong had dropped out.
In the final list are Egypt’s magic man, Mohamed Salah who also features for Premiership side, Liverpool, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and German side, Dortmund as well as Sadio Mane of Senegal and Liverpool.
Egypt’s Mohammed Salah who has played crucial roles for both club and country looks highly favoured to win the award. Earlier, he has been crowned the BBC African Footballer of the Year. The Aiteo/CAF edition will be an icing on the cake for the prolific striker.
The shortlists for the topmost award, African Player of the Year, were unveiled by Ex-Ghana defender, Sammy Kuffour who lost out to Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf of Senegal at the 2002 Award Ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The unveiled list however did not show the African Footballer of Year based in Africa for which Nigeria’s Junior Ajayi of Al Ahly of Egypt was listed.
But in the women’s category, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala is still in the final race along with South Africa’s Chrestina Kgatlana and Cameroon’s Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene.
The Coach of the Year Award will be a tough contest between the duo of Egypt’s Hector Cuper and Nigeria’s Gernot Rohr. Both qualified their respective teams for the World Cup but with the Nigerian coach finishing unbeaten on the field of play.
But Egypt’s Hector Cuper can lay claim to additional advantage of leading his team to the final match of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The third contestant is Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco’s L’Hussein Amoutta whose club won the CAF Champions League.
The National Team of the Year is being contested by Cameroon, the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners, but complete disappointment in the race to the World Cup; Egypt, the runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations, but qualifiers for the World Cup for the first time in 27 years and Nigeria, the clinical finisher of the World Cup qualifiers and perhaps the most rejuvenated of the three contestants.
The unveiling ceremony of the final shortlist was attended by CAF President Ahmad, CAF First Vice President Kwesi Nyantakyi, CAF Executive Committee member, Amaju Pinnick, with Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah, the Guest-of-Honour.
Also present were sponsors, Aiteo, represented by Senior Vice President, Commercial and Gas, Victor Okoronkwo, who expressed his outfit’s pride in partnership of the event that celebrates the various stakeholders of African football. The Awards Gala will take place on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
Below are the top three (Nominees are listed in alphabetical order);
African Player of the Year
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Dortmund)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
Women’s Player of the Year
- Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dalian Quanjian)
- Chrestina Kgatlana (South Africa & UWC Ladies)
- Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene(Cameroon & CSKA Moscow)
Youth Player of the Year
- Krepin Diatta (Senegal & Sarpsborg)
- Patson Daka (Zambia & Liefering)
- Salam Giddou (Mali & Guidars)
Coach of the Year
- Gernot Rohr (Nigeria)
- Hector Cuper (Egypt)
- L’Hussein Amoutta (Wydad Athletic Club)
Club of the Year
- Al Ahly
- TP Mazembe
- Wydad Athletic Club
National Team of the Year
- Cameroon
- Egypt
- Nigeria
Women’s National Team of the Year
- Ghana U-20
- Nigeria U-20
- South Africa
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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