International Football
Despite languishing at Group C bottom, CAR still dream Qatar 2022
Only Liberia, with two points lesser look like having a realistic chance of upstaging the Super Eagles. Yet the bottom-placed Central African Republic (CAR) with just a point, are not giving up.
With the second stage of the World Cup qualifying series in Africa getting into half way mark this week, the shafts are being separated from the seeds. Nigeria’s Super Eagles are holding on tenaciously to the Group C leadership after getting maximum points from the first two matches.
According to information gathered from the country’s radio station, Radio Ndeluka, Raol Savoy, the national coach, expressed confidence that his team can still make it to Qatar next year.
They have back-to-back fixtures with the Super Eagles this weekend – on Thursday in Lagos and Sunday in Douala. The Spanish-Swiss coach remarked that his team had played balanced games so far only that they were yet to win any.
Reflecting on their first match which they forced a 1-1 draw with Cape Verde to earn their only point so far, the coach said:
” We have a lot of young people, most of whom play in Bangui and others who evolve in Europe. It is a very positive result especially in the commitment and the respect of the instructions. I am very proud of these young people of the the way they managed this match by taking the bull by the horns to succeed in taking this good point. I repeat this Cape Verde team was clearly superior in quality and experience. ”
Going into the second match which they narrowly lost 0-1 to Liberia in Monrovia savoy said: “ We must now forget about this Cape Verde match and get down to work to face Liberia. It’s a different opponent that will cause us other concerns. We also want to cause them problems. We absolutely have to get a second positive result. We must do everything to ensure that all these players are ready for Liberia to be a quality match that we can come out with a positive result.”
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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