International Football
HOW VICTOR MOSES LOST OUT
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s wingback, Victor Moses lost out in the race for the African Footballer of the Year as well as being named in the Fans Finest XI. He was one of the front runners until the last ‘legs’ of both races.
According to data collected by www.sportsvillagesquare.com from the Confederation of African Football, CAF, Moses possibly lost out from being in the final shortlist as two Nigerians in the voting panel did not vote in the Phase 1 of the poll.
Moses ended up in that phase with 60 points to a joint third with Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Voting by them, especially if Moses was indicated as their prime candidate, could have given the Nigerian right wingback an additional 10 votes. But all the same, Moses still made the top 11 as at that stage.
Among the 18-man CAF Technical & Development Committee that voted, Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya voted Victor Moses as his second preferred candidate behind Egypt’s Mohammed Salah. Kalusha’s vote fetched Moses, four points.
Korici Toufique of Algeria is the only one who voted Moses as number one, thus giving him a maximum five points.
Overall, the Technical & Development Committee ranked Moses as number four with 22 points behind Mohammed Salah (63), Sadio Mane (34) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (28).
The other Nigerian in the initial 30-man list, William Troost-Ekong did not get any vote from the members of the CAF Technical & Development Committee. He was not alone in that poor outing. Christian Bassogog of Cameroon, Fabrice Ondoa, Fackson Kapumbu, Junior Kabananga, Mbwana Samata, Michael Olunga, Moussa Marega, Percy Tau and Thomas Partey are the others with zero votes.
Eventually, the Nigerian central defender, Troost-Ekong got three votes from the second panel of voters – the CAF Panel of Media Experts. Nigeria’s Ayotunde Adelakun gave him his least vote of one point while Marceline-Maze Muakumanya of DR Congo gave him two points.
The CAF Panel of Media Experts cumulatively gave Moses 23 votes to rank him third behind Sadio Mane (52 votes) and Mohamed Salah (51 votes).
The third group of voters are the Independent Media and TV Consultants where all the 10 but one did not vote. The missing vote, if given to Moses could have seen him come second here. But he finished fourth with 15 votes behind Mohammed Salah (44), Sadio Mane (25) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (16).
The last set of voters was the national associations where the coaches and captains formed the Electoral College.
Victor Moses’ votes were from diverse national associations except the following that had neither their captain nor coach voting for him: Rwanda, Central African Republic, Morocco, Mozambique, Guinea, Liberia, Niger Republic, Djibouti, Sudan, DR Congo, and Burkina Faso.
Significantly, Zambia, eliminated by Nigeria from the World Cup, offered Moses six of maximum 10 points.
The Coach of Cameroon voted Moses second, offering him four of possible five points while the Cameroon skipper gave him the maximum five points. Thus, Moses got nine of maximum 10 points from Nigeria’s eastern neighbours, Cameroon.
When all the points were summed up, Moses had 155 points as against 452 by Mohammed Salah, 391 by Sadio Mane, and 241 by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. That way, Moses placed fourth and could not make the final three shortlist.
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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