International Football
POLISH TEST FOR GERNOT ROHRS’ MEN IN FIFA’S FIRST 2018 INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR DAY
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
Effectively, the Super Eagles’ World Cup build-up begins on March 23, the first of the four FIFA International match days of 2018. The Nigerian side will play a friendly match with Poland in Warsaw. It will be the first ever international engagement with the Polish side which in 2002 World Cup had in its squad Nigerian born Emmanuel Olisadebe as its main striker.
Like Nigeria, Poland will also feature in the 2018 World Cup. Poland, one of the top eight seeded sides, heads Group H which has Senegal Colombia and Japan. The friendly tie with Nigeria is logically to have a feel of what Poland should expect from West Africa’s Senegal.
For Nigeria, it will be a match to gauge expectations from two Group D European sides, Croatia and Iceland.
Super Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr told French publication, football365.fr, that all arrangement for the friendly match has been concluded by both the Nigerian and Polish federations.
Rohr, whose team is billed to take on Croatia in one of Group D opening matches was quoted saying that Croatia wais capable of great things as the team parades a galaxy of stars playing in the biggest clubs. This is the most important match, and we hope to prepare for it against opponent similar to Croatia.
“So we will play Poland at home on March 23rd. We are looking for a second opponent in Europe for another FIFA date in the spring,” he said.
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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