International Football
Benin Republic Makes Football History
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
For the first time ever in 21 clashes spread across 58 years, Republic of Benin beat Nigeria at national team level. The Squirrels beat the home-based Nigeria Super Eagles 1-0 in the first leg of the 2018 African Nations Championship played in Cotonou on Sunday.
The competition is for domestic league players of the various African countries. Winners of the encounter played over two legs qualify for the final tournament slated for Kenya in January.
Before Sunday’s encounter, Nigerian teams had often made mince meat of the Squirrels, even in encounters played in Benin Republic. It is against this western neighbour that Nigeria had their biggest margin victories in football.
One of such was a 10-1 defeat of the country on November 29, 1959 when Benin was then known as Dahomey. Other landmark results Nigeria has had over Republic of Benin were 7-0 win in 1977 and 1978.
Even in a friendly match with Nigeria’s home-based players in August 2005, Benin Republic still crumbled 6-0 in Abuja. It was against the backdrop of previous victories in 20 matches that expectations were high that Nigeria would be able to pick a good result in the West Zone B encounter.
It was not to be as Hafiz Aremu brought down a Beninoise player with barely a minute to regulation time. That was the lifeline Benin Republic needed to create a football history. Mama Seibou stepped forward and scored from the penalty spot.
Nigeria will now need at least a two-goal margin in the return leg to qualify for the final. If the team fails, it will be the second time a neighbouring country will eliminate Nigeria.
Niger Republic first did it in 2010, beating Nigeria 2-0 and holding the team to a goalless draw in the return leg played in Kano.
Nigeria Previous 20 Encounters with Benin Republic
P W D L F A
Nigeria 20 15 5 0 61 8
Benin Rep. 19 0 5 15 8 61
• 8 Nov.1959 (Nkrumah Cup) Benin 0-1 Nigeria
• 29Nov.1959(Nkrumah Cup)Nigeria 10-1 Benin
• 25Jan.1963 (Nkrumah Cup) Benin1-1 Nigeria
• 2 Feb.1963 (Nkrumah Cup) Nigeria 4-1 Benin
• 2 Jan.1965 (AAGq) Nigeria 1-1 Benin *Abandoned
• 11 December. 1965 (F) Nigeria 1-0 Benin
• 27 Feb. 1966 (F) Benin) 1 -2 Nigeria
• 20 Dec. 1972 (F) Nigeria 3- 0 Benin
• 14 Feb. 1977 (F) Nigeria 7- 0 Benin
• 14 Jan.1978 (3 AAGq) Nigeria 7-0 Benin
• 17 Jan.1978 (3AAGq) Nigeria 2-0 Benin
• 14 Oct. 1979 (F) Benin 1-1 Nigeria
• 4 Nov. 1979 (F) Nigeria 5-0 Benin
• 1 Feb. 1987 (SCSA) Benin 1-1 Nigeria
• 30 Sept. 1990 (ACNq) Benin 0-1 Nigeria
• 27 April 1991 (ACNq) Nigeria 3-0 Benin
• 2 Feb 2004 (ACN) Benin 1-2 Nigeria
• 10 Aug, 2005 (F) Nigeria 6-0 Benin
• 28 Jan.2008 (ACN) Benin 0-2 Nigeria
• 16 Jan. 2010 (ACN) Benin 0-1 Nigeria
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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