International Football
AM VERY GRATEFUL TO FC BARCELONA, SAYS OKUNOWO
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
Nigeria’s Gbenga Okunowo who featured along with current Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola and Brazil’s Rivaldo for FC Barcelona in the 1998/99 season has told the Sports Village Square of the bond that often tie club members.
He paid glowing tributes to FC Barcelona for coming to his aid when he lost virtually all his belongings after his house in Ibadan went ablaze in July 2012. Despite having left the club years before the incident, Okunowo said that FC Barcelona still showed love and support.
Okunowo who featured for the 2000 class of Super Eagles that lost the final match of Africa Cup of Nations to Cameroon in Lagos remarked that the kind of assistance from FC Barcelona is rare to be found among African clubs.
Okunowo who later joined Sunshine Stars of Akure, however praised some Nigerian sports administrators who also assisted him to make partial recovery of some of his lost belongings.
He believes that the current crop of Super Eagles is capable of assailing the previous heights of Nigeria in the World Cup.
The Super Eagles had not moved beyond the quarterfinals in the past, but this time, the team handler, Gernot Rohr is eyeing a semi-final slot. Okunowo believes the target is possible.
“I see them getting to the quarter finals… I must say am very pleased with our defence line up. Our defenders are world class. I mean looking at the confidence they radiate and their tackles”, said Okunowo.
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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