International Football
MESSI CLOSE TO BEATING PELE ALL-TIME RECORD
It is well known that with 643, Pele holds the record for most official goals scored for one club. But Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is closing up.
He is currently at 603, meaning he needs 41 goals to set a new record. But how soon can that happen?
Unfortunately,
Leo is currently injured. But all the same, it looks like almost every footballing record will belong to Messi by the time he
retires, and when you put it like that, you understand how lucky we all are to
witness him play week in and week out.
Although the Argentine has said several times in the past that he doesn’t care about personal achievements, the amount of goals he has scored over the past 15 seasons with Blaugrana is staggering.
Currently, the 32-year-old has 603 goals scored for Blaugrana, which is actually the second-best record of all time. Only Pele with 643 goals for Santos has more, meaning Leo has to score 41 goals to beat the Brazilian legend to yet another impressive achievement. Considering his previous seasons, the forward could well reach the milestone already this season.
According to Spanish publication, Tribuna, Messi’s record over the last three seasons:
- SEASON 2018-19: 51 goals in 50 games
- SEASON 2017-18: 45 goals in 54 games
- SEASON 2016-17: 54 goals in 52 games
Those were however, only goals in official games. A big chunk of Pele’s career goals came in friendlies.
Unfortunately, the Argentina international is currently out with a calf injury. However, we should expect him to start banging goal after goal once he is back, especially considering reinforcements brought by the club over the summer.
Antoine Griezmann and Frankie de Jong will for sure make it easier for Leo.
However, Josep Maria Bartomeu also revealed in a recent interview that Messi is free to leave whenever he feels like it, as there is an option in his contract allowing the player to terminate it every summer on June 30. Let’s at least hope that Lionel beats Pele’s record before it happens.
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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