International Football
Zero-Optioned Super Eagles Get Full Bonus
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Super Eagles who are now condemned to beat Zambia in next month’s World Cup qualifiers will be paid full instead of half bonus for the 1-1 draw played with Cameroon in Yaoundé on Monday.
The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, did it in appreciation of the efforts the players put up. The gesture had been announced to the players while on board of the aircraft bringing the Nigerian contingent back home from Yaoundé in the early hours of Tuesday.
Hours later, the team was condemned to beating Zambia in the next match day of the World Cup qualifiers as the 1-1 draw that the Zambians got in the crunchy Tuesday night encounter with hosts Algeria in Constantine.
The loss by Algeria means that the country has joined Cameroon in crashing out of the Russia 2018 qualifying series. The Group B aptly dubbed “Group of Death” for being power-packed having four past Africa Cup of Nations winners three of which had been at the last two editions of the World Cup, Algeria and Cameroon were adjudged the favourites to emerge winners. Paradoxically, both have been eliminated.
The Zambians by beating Algeria have narrowed the point gap with Nigeria to three points. Only Nigeria and Zambia are left in the race for qualification in Group B. A win in the October 7 match in Uyo secures the ticket for the Super Eagles.
A reverse result could mean both having the same number of points, but the goal difference could sway in Nigeria’s favour as both would then be going into the last match days on equal points.
The Nigeria Football Federation has opted to pay players and officials of the Super Eagles the full match bonus for Monday’s crunchy 2018 FIFA World Cup encounter against the Lions of Cameroon in Yaoundé, even though the tie ended in a draw.
“When the draw was made last year, people said ours was the Group of Death. But you have stayed very much alive with scintillating performances and done the nation very proud, NFF president, Amaju Pinnick announced to a wild cheers by the players.
According to a media release from the NFF Communication Department, “preparations for next month’s big encounter against the Chipolopolo of Zambia, at which the Super Eagles are highly expected to pick the World Cup ticket, have started in earnest.
“Even before the conclusion of this second match against Cameroon in Yaoundé, we had started the arrangements for the match against Zambia. The Chairman of Organizing Committee (NFF 1st VP, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi) will travel to Uyo this week to see Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and they will go through the check –list together.
“Nothing will be left to chance. It is a very big match, and the way things have turned out against Cameroon, it is now an even bigger match than the ones we played against Cameroon. There must be no room for error.”
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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