International Football
All You Need to Know About FIFA Confederations Cup
- This is the 10th competition, but eighth, under the name FIFA Confederation Cup as the tournaments of 1992 and 1995 were organized by Saudi Arabia Football Federation and were known as Intercontinental Championship for the King Fahd Cup. They are included in historical and statistical reviews.
- Brazil has participated most having featured in seven consecutive editions, The Brazilians also won the most trophies having won in 1997, 2005, 2009 and 2013. However, having failed to qualify for the 2017 edition, their record of participation will be equaled by Mexico.
- Only Brazil in 2009 and 2013 as well as France in 2003 have successfully defended their titles.
- Brazil 2013 edition that had Brazil, Italy, Uruguay and Spain is the competition with most gathering of past World Cup champions.
- In nine editions so far, South American teams have won five times (Brazil four times and Argentina once). The continent is followed by Europe with three – France twice and Denmark once. The only other title went to Mexico which beat Brazil on home soil in 1999.
- Continental derbies have been few and far in between. Two teams from the same confederation have met only on five occasions. The most recent were the semi finals of the 2013 edition when Spain faced Italy while Brazil and Uruguay squared up in the other semi final. Before then, Brazil and Argentina met in 2005 final match, Mexico and USA in 1999 as well as France and Turkey in 2003.
- The player with most participation is Brazil’s goalkeeper, Dida, who featured in all editions from 1997 to 2005 playing in 22 matches.
- The all-time top scorers are Brazil’s Ronaldinho and Mexico’s Cuahtemoc Blanco. Each scored nine goals.
- Like in the World Cup, no foreign coach has ever won.
- Brazil’s trio coaches of Carlos Alberto Parreira (1994 and 2005), Mario Zagallo (1970 and 1997), and Luiz Felipe Scolari (2002 and 2013) are the only men to win both the World Cup and the Confederations Cup.
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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