International Football
WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION: ROHR RAINS PRAISES ON NFF
Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr having achieved his primary objective of qualifying Nigeria for the Russia 2018 World Cub is heaving as sigh of relief and thanking his employers for providing conducive working environment for him.
Shortly after his employment last year, he granted an interview with FIFA publication, FIFA 1904 in which he remarked that he agreed to be fired if Nigeria fails to qualify for the World Cup.
He made similar remarks in a joint interview he granted Sports Village Square and Complete Sports Managing Director, Mumini Alao at the boardroom of the Lagos FA on January 2 this year.
According to a media release of the NFF, Gernot Rohr now looks back and poured praises on the NFF for the “professional and committed manner” it handled the Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Not only were the three –time African champions unbeaten in what was styled ‘Group of Death’, the Super Eagles picked the ultimate ticket in that group with a game to spare, becoming Africa’s first candidate for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia in the process.
Rohr, according to the Media Department of the NFF, believes the professional approach to the team’s preparations by the NFF for all the six qualifiers played a pivotal role in the team’s success.
“For sure, we must commend the NFF for the role they played right from that game in Ndola against Zambia to last Friday’s game in Constantine, Algeria.
“Apart from putting together excellent arrangements for our games at home, they ensured we travelled in comfort to all our away games and the fact that our away travels were always direct on chartered flights made sure we had very good recovery period between games.
- Flying in style and splendour. The Super Eagles’ delegation board the executive jet that flew them to from Constantine to Krasnodar on Saturday. It is an all-business class aircraft. The same jet will fly them back to Constantine on Wednesday.
“This also helped to manage the few days we usually have because of the congested and very small number of the FIFA international days,” Rohr said.
Nigeria won four games and drew two to finish top of the eminent pile with 14 points, six ahead of second –placed Zambia.
In both drawn games away from home, they were pegged back by late penalties to the hosts in dying minutes, underlying the Super Eagles’ praiseworthy performance throughout the campaign.
This, the Franco –German tactician believes, was down to paying attention to little details.
“From the time the draw was made for the group series of the qualifiers, we knew that in a difficult group like the one we were in, the difference between success and failure could be down to little things that most people would take for granted, but I am happy that the NFF were very professional, passionate and committed to the cause.
“Their great planning and arrangements made the players to focus on the football only, so we got the best out of them.
“Now we cannot rest on our oars because there is a bigger challenge ahead of us. We have to prepare better and focus even more as we get set for the World Cup next year,” Rohr concluded.
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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