International Football
YES! SALAH IS AFRICA’S BEST
Expectedly, Egyptian playmaker Mohamed Salah etched his name into football history after being crowned African Player of the Year 2017 in Accra, Ghana on Thursday night.
The 25-year old, who plays for English side Liverpool picked the topmost prize at the Aiteo CAF Awards Gala 2017, held at the International Conference Centre in Accra, Ghana.
Salah fended off opposition from club-mate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, winner in 2015, to become the first Egyptian to win the most prestigious individual honour in African football.
He polled 625 points, against 507 from Mane whilst Aubameyang finished a distant third with 311 points.
The feat capped a superb year for the forward who played an influential role for both club and country during the year under review.
Salah’s feat was the climax of a memorable evening for Egyptian football which saw the Pharaohs being named National Team of the Year and Argentina-born trainer, Hector Cuper, Coach of the Year.
Nigerian Asisat Oshoala was adjudged Women’s Player of the Year for the third time, after 2014 and 2016.
She beat Cameroonian Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and Chrestina Kgatlana of South Africa to the top prize.
However, Kgatlana took consolation in Banyana Banyana being named Women’s National Team of the Year.
Patson Daka ensured Zambia was represented on the podium with the Youth Player of the Year, ten years after compatriot Clifford Mulenga was decorated Most Promising Talent of the Year.
African champions, Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco deservingly went home with the Club of the Year award.
Former Ghana player Ibrahim Sunday, a member of the Asante Kotoko squad that won the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1970 was decorated with the Legend award.
CAF Executive Committee member, Ahmed Yahya, who doubles as president of the Mauritania Football Federation was named Football Leader of the Year.
There were two Platinum Awards, one to Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and global football icon, George Weah, now President-elect of Liberia.
The ceremony which was beamed live to millions across the world had Ghana President Akufo-Addo, Fatma Samoura – FIFA General Secretary amongst some high profile attendees.
There were also musical performances from Toofan from Togo, DR Congo’s Fally Ipupa, and Nigerian septet of Patoranking, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Phyno and Flavour.
Awards
African Player of the Year
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
Women’s Player of the Year
Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dalian Quanjian)
Youth Player of the Year
Patson Daka (Zambia & Liefering)
Coach of the Year
Hector Cuper (Egypt)
Club of the Year
Wydad Athletic Club
National Team of the Year
Egypt
Women’s National Team of the Year
South Africa
Legend
Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana)
Platinum Award
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – President of Ghana
George Weah – President-elect of Liberia & former World, Africa and European Player of the Year
Fans’ Finest XI
Goalkeeper: Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia & Etoile du Sahel)
Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly), Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United), Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
Midfielders: Mohamed Ounnajem (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club), Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord), Junior Ajayi (Nigeria & Al Ahly), Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor), Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool), Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance)
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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