International Football
SUPER EAGLES WILL BE A PLEASANT SURPRISE AT RUSSIA 2018, SAYS ONIGBINDE
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
Elder Statesman in Nigerian football, Adegboye Onigbinde has made a sensational prediction that the Super Eagles under Gernot Rohr will win the World Cup in Russia, next summer.
“I said that two months ago, but some people thought it was a joke”, Onigbinde said on a sports programme on Channels Television.
Since the early 1990s, prominent football personalities have been predicting the possibility of an African team causing an upset by winning the world’s most important single sport prize.
The expectation was heightened when Nigeria won the inaugural FIFA U-16 tournament in 1985 and were runners-up two years later in Canada.
Cameroon took over by causing upsets at the Italia ’90, beating the Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina in the opening match and were within minutes of crossing the quarter finals hurdles into semi finals before late penalty kicks awarded to England truncated the African team’s advancement.
This time, Nigeria will be up again against Argentina for the fifth near-record time in the World Cup. The team also had the hurdles of Croatia and debutants, Iceland to cross before possibly facing potential Group C leaders, France in Round of 16, the same point they met in Brazil.
Onigbinde, who guided Nigeria at the 2002 World Cup insists that Nigeria can win the World Cup if the preparations were right.
He pointed out that internal rift was the cause of Nigeria’s first round ouster at 2002 when the Super Eagles were in a group of death with two former World Cup holders – England and Argentina- as well as Sweden who were runners up at home in 1958.
He said he had to completely overhaul the team in the final group match with England in Osaka, Japan. He brought in Vincent Enyeama who had the first of his eight World Cup matches.
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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