International Football
Italian keeper Buffon hangs up his gloves after 28 years
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has retired from football, the 45-year-old announced on Wednesday, after 28 years in which he reached exceptional milestones for club and country.
Buffon, who in 2006 lifted the World Cup, won 10 Serie A titles with Juventus and a Ligue 1 title with Paris St Germain.
“That’s all folks! You gave me everything. I gave you everything. We did it together,” Buffon said in a statement.
Buffon is the most capped goalkeeper in history, having played 176 times for Italy.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest keepers of all time, he ended his career where he started, at Parma who are in the Italian second tier, having struggled with injuries in his final season.
Buffon joined Juve from Parma in 2001 and spent most of his career with the club, except for a season at PSG in 2018-19, before returning to Turin and then to Parma in June 2021.
Kylian Mbappe, who played with Buffon in Paris, paid tribute to the keeper.
“It’s a huge honour for me to have had the chance to rub shoulders with you and cross paths with your legendary career,” Mbappe posted on messaging platform X, previously known as Twitter.
“(You are) a man of gold with invaluable advice that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Buffon began his career in Parma’s youth system in 1991 aged 13, initially playing in midfield before moving to the role of goalkeeper due to his height and physical attributes.
He made his Serie A debut for Parma in a goalless draw against AC Milan in November 1995 at the age of 17.
Buffon, 1.92 metres tall, played a record 657 times in the Italian top flight and was UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2003.
He retired from international football in 2018 after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“Time has been called on what is simply an exceptional career, an exceptional man and one of the world’s most celebrated players,” Serie A said in a post.
“You’ve been unique. And you always will be. I can’t even find the words to describe what you’ve been, what you taught me, what you gave me. Thanks, my friend,” Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci wrote on Instagram.
-Reuters
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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