International Football
Super Eagles’ World Cup foes, CAR put hopes on left-sided young star, Marc Raphaël Yapende
Central African Republic (CAR) may be relatively anonymous in the committee of football powers in Africa, the side could be tricky when they faced the Super Eagles on Thursday in a World Cup qualifying duel.
They carry with them the quality of surprise, often displayed by underdogs. One of their players to watch out for, even though has not yet featured in the World Cup qualifiers, is Marc Raphael Yapende aka Marco.
He was a big revelation in national football during the African U-20 Youth Championship. This left side of the national team has already been selected three times with the main national team.
According to a report garnered from local radio station, Radio Ndekeluka, for his coaches, Marco is a great future for the Central African round ball.
In March 2021, Marc Raphael, the national team coach, Yapende said Marco was the captain of the national team for CAR’s first participation in the Africa U-20 in Mauritania.
Even if the CAR were eliminated in the quarter-finals, the performance of this 19-year-old push François Zahoui, national coach at the time, to start him during the last three days of qualifying for Afcon 2022.
His complicity resides in the field when he is with his team mates. Pascal Lafleuriel, a former interim coach of the national team appreciated the qualities of Marco despite his shortcomings.
” Marco, he’s a boy with great athleticism. He has a very good left foot. He has a real quality of speed, play and hitting. He really is a powerful player. Now he has left. to work on his athletic ability, to make the right choice in his passes, in his crosses and positions, “said the coach.
Freeman Niamathé, his teammate is impressed by Marc’s talent and gives him some advice.
“He’s a good player. I started with him from our childhood. Now he has to work on his personality and his temperament in a game,” he said.
Former student of the Foot School, Jimmy Yanibada (EFJY), Marc Raphael Yapende explains his role in the field.
“Today my coaches ask me to work a lot on crosses, my placements in the match every time I receive the ball. I don’t like to lose and I always have the thirst to win. evolve outside ” , he says.
Elected the man of the match during the 3rd day of the CAN U20 in Mauritania against Tunisia in March 2021, Marc Raphaël Yapende intends to work hard to stay the course and do better for the senior team.
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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