International Football
SUPER FALCONS GO FOR REVENGE AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA
BY APESIN ADEMOLA.
Ghanaians fans may be mourning the elimination of their team, the Black Queens at the group stage of the African Women’s Championship, but they will be gratified that two of the best clashes in the tournament are being taken round the two host stadiums in the country.
It was at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium that South Africa’s Banyana Banyana recorded a feat 13 days ago by beating the Super Falcons for the first time ever. That lone goal victory in Group B set the tone for the impressive run of the South Africans who not only topped the group but went on to dominate Mali, the Cinderella team of the competition, in the semi-final.
Both teams will now meet at the other venue – the Accra Sports Stadium in the Ghanaian capital – for the showpiece match this Saturday.
South Africa will like to prove that the result of the Cape Coast clash was not a fluke as they seek to arrive France for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup as African champions. France 2019 will be South Africa’s first time at the world stage.
This is Banyana Banyana’s fourth time in the final of the competition. While the Super Falcons extinguished their hope in 2000 in Boksburg, located in South Africa’s East Rand of Gauteng province, with the host team abandoning the match in the 73rd minute while Nigeria led 2-0, Equatorial Guinea were the victors in the 2008 and 2012 final matches.
South Africa will count on Thembi Kgatlana, the revelation of the tournament, to again sting the Super Falcons. The 22-year-old striker, who plays for Houston Dash in the United States National Women’s Soccer League, converted the only goal in the defeat of Nigeria and is the leading scorer of the competition with five goals in the kitty.
Nigeria are however familiar to the global tournament having represented the continent in all seven previous editions.
The Super Falcons are aiming at a record-extending ninth title in Africa and will not take their opponents for granted.
Azizat Oshoala on three goals and Desire Oparanozie (two goals) will lead the charge for coach Thomas Dennerby’s charges.
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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