International Football
Two stars of African origin battle for Champions League… they could decide Ballon d’Or winner
It has been a very fruitful year for reigning African Footballer of the Year, Sadio Mane of Senegal after an incredible treble so far – Africa Cup of Nations, League Cup as well the FA Cup.
Added to his string of victories is the qualification of Senegal for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. With UEFA Champions League in view, he appears on a good standing to claim the Ballon d’Or.
On the other hand is France international, Karim Benzema who is of Algerian origin. He stars for Real Madrid, the team Mane’s Liverpool will contest the Champions League title with this weekend.
According to the BBC, quoting a former Liverpool defender, Djimi Traore, the outcome of the Champions League final could decide who wins this year’s Ballon d’Or.
The man who was left-back when the Anfield club won the trophy in 2005 thinks Senegal forward Sadio Mane is in contention for the award – but says he faces stiff competition from Real and France striker Karim Benzema.
Benzema, 34, has struck 15 goals in Europe this season to help the Spanish giants set up a meeting with Liverpool in Paris on Saturday.
Mane was instrumental in Senegal’s first Africa Cup of Nations triumph in February and helped the Teranga Lions qualify for the 2022 World Cup, with the 30-year-old having also won two domestic cups with his club this season.
“I think Karim Benzema is in the form in his life – he’s doing fantastically,” Traore told BBC Sport Africa.
“I think the winner of the Champions League, the individual reward would be like winning the Ballon d’Or. Right now it looks like it’ll be between Benzema and Mane.”
Nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or will be revealed on 12 August, with the winner announced at a ceremony in Paris in 17 October.
Organisers France Football have decided the prize will now be judged on performances over a season rather than over a calendar year, which was the previous format.
Saturday’s showdown between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Paris is a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final, when the Spaniards ran out 3-1 winners to clinch their 13th European crown.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds returned 12 months later to win the title for the sixth time and Traore thinks his old side are slight favourites this year, despite finishing second in the Premier League.
“They have a fantastic manager,” the 42-year-old former Mali international said.
“Some of their players are the best in the positions they play. When you see Mo Salah, he’s a top-class player, the best African player. You see Mane as well and after that you have (Virgil) Van Dijk and a couple of other players.
“They just got (Luis) Diaz – he was a great addition for the team. And they look confident.
“Maybe it’s one of the first times Liverpool look like favourites in the final and that’s something maybe they’re not used to. They did it last time against Tottenham [in 2019], so why not do it again?”
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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