International Football
Four Argentine friends to ride bicycle from South Africa to Qatar for World Cup
Four Argentine friends will cycle 10,500 kilometres from South Africa to Qatar to support their country at the World Cup in November, an initiative that will also lead to 10,500 new trees being planted in their homeland.
Lucas Ledezma, Leandro Blanco Pighi, Silvio Gatti and Sebastian Rodriguez, from the province of Cordoba, will start cycling on May 15 from Cape Town to Doha, a journey that will cross 15 countries in two continents.
“The general idea of the trip is to cover 10,500 kilometres passing through 15 countries for six months,” Ledezma, a 34-year-old physical education teacher, told Reuters. “The idea is to arrive about four or five days before the opening match starts in Doha,” he added.
Argentina are scheduled to play their first match at this year’s tournament on Nov. 22 against Saudi Arabia at the Lusail stadium.
Ledezma has previous experience in this type of crossing. As well as cycling to Brazil to attend the 2014 World Cup and also to Russia for the 2018 finals, he has travelled through various countries on two wheels to cheer on his compatriots at the 2018 Rio Olympics and the 2015 Copa America in Chile.
For his 2022 adventure, he will be joined by a documentary maker, a writer and a travel agent.
“There is planning for months, sitting down to find out what is happening in each country, there is a deep investigation,” said 31-year-old writer Pighi.
“Travelling by bicycle is something beautiful because we don’t skip anywhere, we feel the journey, each little tree, each house, each family, kilometre by kilometre,” he added, enthusiastically.
Besides watching the matches, the trip aims to help the environment. Each kilometre travelled will be marked by the planting of a tree in the mountains of Cordoba, located about 600 kilometres northwest of the country’s capital, Buenos Aires.
-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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