International Football
Rooney Quits England
England’s all-time leading goal scorer and most-capped outfield player, Wayne Rooney aged 31, has retired from international career.
The Everton forward, who scored 53 goals in 119 appearances for the Three Lions, announced the news in a statement on his website.
“It is a really tough decision and one I have discussed with my family, my manager at Everton and those closest to me,” he wrote on officialwaynerooney.com.
“Playing for England has always been special to me. Every time I was selected as a player or captain was a real privilege and I thank everyone who helped me. But I believe now is the time to bow out.
“I will always remain a passionate England fan. One of my very few regrets is not to have been part of a successful England tournament side. Hopefully the exciting players Gareth [Southgate] is bringing through can take that ambition further and I hope everyone will get behind the team.”
In the statement, Rooney revealed that Southgate had called him to offer a place in his Three Lions squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia, having been absent from all World Cup qualifying squads this year (in March and June), but the Everton man decided to focus on his club commitments.
Rooney broke on to the scene as a teenager, becoming the youngest player to represent the country in 2003, aged 17 years and 111 days, when he came on as a substitute against Australia in a friendly game (that record has since been claimed by Theo Walcott).
Playing without fear, the bullish youngster excited England fans, with comparisons drawn to the free-flowing and carefree nature of Paul Gascoigne’s style of play 15 years earlier.
t his first major tournament, UEFA EURO 2004, Rooney seemed destined to live up to that promise, scoring a pair of braces against Switzerland and Croatia in the group stage.
However, he was withdrawn through injury early in the quarter-final against Portugal, a game which saw England exit the competition.
At subsequent tournaments, Rooney perhaps failed to find the spark he had done at his first, seeing red against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals, and scoring his only World Cup goal at the tenth time of asking, in his third finals, at Brazil 2014 – a tournament in which England exited at the group stage.
Despite England’s collective failings on the biggest stage, Rooney has forged a memorable Three Lions career, passing Sir Bobby Charlton’s record as his country’s all-time top goal scorer by scoring against Switzerland at Wembley in 2015.
In 2016, he surpassed David Beckham as England’s most-capped outfield player with his 116th appearance for his country, against Slovakia in World Cup qualifying.
Rooney’s Milestones
- 1st game: v Australia (Friendly, 12/2/2003), aged 17 years, 111 days
- 1st goal: v FYR Macedonia (UEFA EURO 2004 qualifier, 6/9/2003)
- 1st goal at major finals: v Switzerland (UEFA EURO 2004, 17/6/2004)
- 50th game: v Ukraine (2010 World Cup qualifier, 1/4/2009)
- 1st game as captain: v Brazil (Friendly, 14/11/2009), aged 24 years, 21 day
- 100th game: v Slovenia (UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier, 15/11/2014)
- 50th goal: v Switzerland (UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier, 8/9/2015)
- Final (53rd) goal:v Iceland (UEFA EURO 2016, 27/6/2016)
- Final (119th) game: v Scotland (2018 World Cup qualifier, 11/11/2016), aged 31 years, 18 days
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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