International Football
ARGENTINA WILL BE HARD NUT TO CRACK, ROHR TELLS ARGENTINE PUBLICATION
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s manager, Gernot Rohr has admitted that the June 26 match with Argentina at Krestovsky Stadium, St Petersburg will be a difficult one. The www.sportsvillagesqure.com has gathered from Argentine publication, Olé that Rohr anticipates that the encounter will be a classification match. The publication reported that Rohr spoke with Argentine radio station, Radio Rivadavia.
Rohr reportedly remarked that the match will determine who follows who. In essence, he is projecting that both Argentina and Nigeria will emerge from the Group D and the last match will only determine the group leader and the runners-up.
The runners-up face a potentially difficult Round of 16 match with projected Group C leader, France. The French side eliminated Nigeria at that stage four years ago. Rohr has a link with the French, even though he was born a German.
A substantial part of his adult life has been in France; hence he is often described as Franco-German. His dream may be to be the Group leader as Nigeria did in 1994 in a group that also had Argentina.
On the South Americans, Rohr reportedly remarked: “You know how we play, so we cannot surprise them like the last time”, referring to the 4-2 defeat Nigeria inflicted on Argentina two months ago.
He acknowledged that this time it will be more difficult to beat the Sampaoli as they did in the friendly at Krasnodar Stadium, Russia.
“It will be more difficult this time than in the friendly because they know how we play, so we cannot surprise them like the last time.”
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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