International Football
FRANCE 2019: DENNERBY PROMISES TO TAKE NIGERIA’S BEST LEGS
Super Falcons’s Head Coach Thomas Dennerby has said that the team will go to this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in France with the best legs available.
Speaking to thenff.com on the necessity of the recent domestic camp, the coach who is delighted with the maximum support of the Nigeria Football Federation for his entire programme ahead of the World Cup, insisted that in order to select the best players, there is need to give as many good players as possible the opportunity to show what they can do.
“We have different targets, of course. The first target is to find really good players that will be in the first list that we will send to FIFA. We have to be very sure we have the right players. It’s very important that you are one hundred per cent sure that you have picked the ones that you really want. Also, we have a camp in Spain at the beginning of April where we will play the Canada Women National team and it is very important that some of the players in this camp come to Spain.”
Dennerby, who led the domestic players to third place finish in the maiden edition of the WAFU Cup Tournament in 2018, noted that some of the players will leave the team eventually and the domestic camp offers opportunity to know who has the ability.
“Soon, we probably need to change some of the players in the National Team and when the time comes we have to know who is best suitable. There is a lot of good reason for having the domestic camp.”
The Nigeria Football Federation has availed the Super Falcons with the opportunity of playing six games so far this year in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in France.
Speaking on the team’s preparation so far, Dennerby insisted the team has been getting better with every game, expressing hope that they will have a good performance at the World Cup.
“If you look at the first game we played this year in China against the Chinese Women National team, we had a good first half but the players became tired in the second half and I know the reason for that. However, having observed that Romanian defenders were slow from their first game, we tried to supply our attackers faster in the second game and won 4-1.
“Coming to Cyprus, with the good quality of the opponents we showed some improvement from the first tournament.
“We were unlucky in the first game against Austria with a player (goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi) picking a red card in the 6th minute. We played with only ten players for 84 minutes but we really did well in the game.
“The girls showed a lot of good attitude. But the good thing is that we got two wins in Cyprus and the girls showed strong attitude, they were quick, nice running, hardworking, good decision –making and all these are necessary to boost their confidence.”
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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