International Football
MESSI, RONALDO GO AFTER PELE’S RECORD
The rivalry between former World Footballer of the Year recipient Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo took another dimension last week as the duo go head to head to erase age-long goal record set by legendary Pele.
The duo in the last 11 years have five Ballon Dor each and had continued to break new ground in the present day football especially at club level when they have won several trophies both in domestic and Europe.
Barcelona forward, Messi has scored his 576th goal in 660 appearances for Barcelona with goal against Levante last Thursday has his latest installment in Copa del Rey win for his club.
After beating Gerd Muller’s record of 565 goals for Bayern Munich in 1964-1969 back in November, the Argentine only has Pele ahead of him.
Pele, who played for Santos between 1956 and 1974, scored incredible 619 goals in 638 games for the Brazilian side. Thus, Messi needs 44 more goals to get ahead of the legendary Brazilian forward.
As Messi said back in November, he himself is not really focused on the individual achievements. “I am delighted, I have just found out now. I am happy for this new stat,” he told reporters after the game against PSV when he has also become the player with the most UCL goals for one club.
Another player who also has a chance of beating Pele’s record is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward has scored an impressive 589 goals in 789 games. However, it also should be noted, that Ronaldo is 869 days older than his counterpart.
Interestingly, Pele has bashed Messi for being a ‘one skill’ player back in December:
“How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well?” Pele told Brazilian daily newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, as cited by the Mirror.
Earlier in 2015, the Brazilian legend, never accepted the Barca no.10 as a better player than himself, even praised his life-long rival Diego Maradona as superior to Leo: “You will ask me,” Pele said, “was [Maradona] better than Messi? Yes, by a lot. Much better.”
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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