International Football
“We Won’t Underrate Katsina United Feeders,” Says Akwa Boss, Maikaba
BY MFON PATRICK.
As Akwa United gets set to engage Katsina United Feeders in the quarter final of Aiteo Cup, Coach Abdu Maikaba remarked that his team will not underestimate their opponents in the two legged encounter.
Akwa United will hope to continue their impressive form in the competition when they battle nationwide league team on Sunday in the first leg, quarter final of the oldest club football competition in the country.
The Promise Keepers have scored 12 goals in three Aiteo Cup matches and Coach Maikaba maintained that his team will concentrate on getting the needed result irrespective of the opponent.
“We are glad that we have made it to the quarter final of this competition but our target is to get to the final and lift the trophy on October 8″.
“To achieve our target, we need to continue playing well and winning our matches no matter the opposition.
‘We have a big game in our hands against Katsina United Feeders and we know that any team that plays in the quarter final of any competition is a good team”.
“As far as the Aiteo Cup competition is concerned, Katsina United Feeders is one of the best eight teams and they have played against some very good teams and got positive results so we are not going to underrate them because this is a very important match for both teams.
“We are determined to approach it with winning mentality. From this stage of the competition which is on home and away basis, we have to give our best in every match be it home or away.
“So we will continue to treat our opponents with respect while we set our sight on the ultimate prize”.
The 2015 winners will be without five key players- Vice Captain Ariwachukwu Emmanuel, Ubong Friday, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Aremu Afeez and Gabriel Okechukwu who are with the national team for WAFU Cup tournament in Ghana, but Coach Maikaba believes that he has a team that can comfortably prosecute the match.
After the first leg in Uyo on Sunday, Akwa United will travel to Katsina for the return leg which has been fixed for Wednesday, 27th September.
The winner of the two legged tie will face the winner between Osun United and Sunshine Stars in the semi final.
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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