International Football
Champion League Chase, Keeps Olarenwaju from Corsica Match
BY WALE AJAYI
The UEFA champions’ league spot chasing Austria Wien is responsible for the recent substitution of Kayode Olarenwaju in the list of players called up by Nigeria for the friendly matches with Corsica and Togo.
The top scoring Olarenwaju in the Austrian league has only been capped once by Nigeria and will be missing what could have been his second Grade A cap when Nigeria face Togo early in June.
Sports Village Square gathered that the player who is also gunning for the top scorer’s award in the Austrian Bundesliga was excused from the proposed friendly games to enable him spearhead the attack line of his club, FK Austria Wien in the final league games of the season.
In his place, the Super Eagles’ technical crew called up KAS Eupen of Belgium top marksman, Henry Onyekuru, late on Thursday.
Kayode told Sports Village Square that he had already given the Super Eagles’ coaches his words regarding his availability for the friendlies after discussion with his club’s management but recent developments in the league which now sees Austria Wien sit in second place with 60 points, twelve behind table toppers Salzburg FC, and just three points ahead of third placed Sturm Graz, explains why it has become very important for him to help the club in their last few games of the season.
This Saturday, Wien will visit Wolfsberger AC while on Thursday they will host league champions, Salzburg in Vienna. Victory in both games will all but guarantee automatic qualification for the UEFA champions league, a competition that means so much to the Vienna based club.
After that match, Austria Wien will visit Admira FC in their very last match of the season on Sunday May 28. The result of the Admira game will be inconsequential so long as they win the games with Wolfsberger AC and Salzburg.
Kayode who has already scored 16 league goals and have eight assists to his name this season, holds the ace to Austria Wien’s champions’ league ambition.
No wonder the club pleaded that the former Maccabi Natanya FC of Israel striker be allowed to play at least, their last two matches of the season before he is released to honour Super Eagles’ assignments.
“I was not dropped he told Sports Village Square in a telephone conversation on Thursday night after his name was conspicuously missing from the delegation that will travel to the little French region of Corsica before returning to Paris for the match with Togo.
“I spoke with Tunde Adelakun a close confidant to the coach who told me to join up with the team when I am through with club commitments.
“My club needs me to score the goals that will guarantee UEFA Champions League qualification and they are saying the friendly games are not on a FIFA free window so I cannot compel them to release me.
“I really want to wear the Super Eagles jersey again after my London experience and am confident, based on assurances from Tunde Adelakun that my name will be on the list that will tackle South Africa on June 10.
“I will like to use this medium to thank the national team handlers for believing in me and for counting me worthy. I promise that if given another chance, I will deliver the goals.
“My dream is to help Nigeria qualify for the World Cup in Russia and the Nations cup in Cameroon. Am very confident both objectives are achievable that’s is why I want to give it my all he concluded”
Kayode is currently joint top scorer of the Austrian Bundesliga on 16 league goals from 33 matches with Deni Alar of Sturm Graz and he is on track to be voted the most valuable player of the club at the season ending gala night event
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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