International Football
BEATING LIBYA WAS A DIFFICULT VICTORY, SAYS SALISU YUSUF
Nigeria’s head coach, Salisu Yusuf has admitted that the lone goal victory over 2014 champions, Libya, was a very difficult one. Nigeria had to wait till about 10 minutes to regulation time before Shooting Stars’ Sunday Faleye shot Nigeria into the lead.
“It was a very difficult victory. We faced a very good team in Libya, who created a lot of problems on the ground”, Salisu told a post match conference.
“Our opponents were more comfortable than us backed by their victory against Equatorial Guinea in their opening match. We advocated a strategy to close spaces. We studied the Libyan team.
“We changed our strategy compared to the first match. We are already thinking about the next match against Equatorial Guinea. Our goal is to win the remaining match to stay here in Tangiers”.
His Libyan counterpart, Omar El Maryami, remarked that his players were not in shape to express themselves on the field.
“We tried to put pressure on the Nigerian team but the players could not give what was expected of them. Our goal was to win and to win you have to score goals. We were not good today.
“It’s football and we have to accept the loss. We have to give our all against Rwanda to win and qualify for the knockout stage to honour our national colours”.
Meanwhile, the already eliminated Equatorial Guinea have promised Nigeria a tough match. After their lone goal defeat by Rwanda, Coach Rodolfo Bodipo said: “Even as if we are eliminated, we will play hard against Nigeria”.
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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