International Football
SEARCH FOR EMILIANO SALA AND LOST PLANE RESUMES
The search for the plane carrying the Cardiff City’s new signing, Emiliano Sala that went missing over the English Channel has resumed, amid only “slim” hopes he survived.
The aircraft, carrying Sala and the pilot, disappeared off Alderney in the Channel Islands on Monday night.
Sala reportedly sent a voicemail
message to his father saying he was frightened the plane was about to break up.
“I’m here on a plane that looks like it’s about to fall apart, and I’m going to Cardiff … If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don’t know if they are going to send someone to look for me because they cannot find me, but you know … Dad, how scared am I!”
He was flying to Wales from the French city of Nantes after signing for Cardiff for a club record fee of £13m.
In a transcript of the call, quoted by the Mirror, he said: “I’m here on a plane that looks like it’s about to fall apart, and I’m going to Cardiff … If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don’t know if they are going to send someone to look for me because they cannot find me, but you know … Dad, how scared am I!”
The search and rescue operation – which included help from the Channel Islands, UK and France – was suspended for the day at 5pm on Tuesday.
The chances of finding Sala alive were “slim” if the plane landed on water, Guernsey police had said in a statement earlier on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Guernsey police, the Piper PA-46 Malibu, a single-turbine engine aircraft, departed Nantes at 7.15pm for the Welsh capital and was flying at an altitude of 5,000ft (1,500 metres).
On passing Guernsey it “requested descent”, but Jersey air traffic control (ATC) lost contact with the plane while it was flying at 2,300ft.
After a 15-hour search from rescue teams, which covered an area of 1,155 sq miles, Guernsey police said “a number of floating objects” were seen in the water, but they were “unable to confirm whether any of these are from the missing aircraft”.
A statement posted on the official Twitter account of Guernsey police said: “We have found no signs of those onboard. If they did land on the water, the chances of survival are at this stage, unfortunately, slim.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Cardiff’s executive director, Ken Choo, expressed his shock and distress at the news.
Sala, 28, was on his way back to Wales after saying goodbye to his Nantes teammates on Monday night. Choo described Sala as a “great person” and said he had been “so happy” to sign for Cardiff.
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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