International Football
FIFA U20 WORLD CUP: FLYING EAGLES ARRIVE GERMANY FOR INTENSIVE TRAINING
Nigeria’s U20 boys have arrived in Bad Goegging Munich in Germany for a three –week intensive final camping programme ahead of the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Poland.
A delegation comprising team officials and 23 players traveled aboard a Lufthansa Airline flight from Abuja on Saturday night and arrived in Frankfurt just before 6am, before a 4-hour road trip to the city. The delegation is staying at The Monarch Hotel.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday,
the seven –time African champions welcomed the General Secretary of Nigeria
Football Federation, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, who charged the team to adopt good
character and discipline as winning words in the camp and at the global
championship, while eschewing any conduct that could tarnish the image of
Nigeria.
NFF GS, Dr. Sanusi in a photo with the U20 delegation at the Abuja Airport on Saturday.
“A good name is forever better than gold. While we implore you to go out there and put in the best efforts to win your matches and do the country and the African continent proud, it is important that you do so with good conduct, discipline and dedication, and with respect for the good name of our dear country.
“You are flying the country’s flag and also flying the continent’s flag. It is therefore incumbent on you to show good character on and off the field of play at all times and abide by the tenets of fairplay,” Dr. Sanusi said.
While advising the players and team officials to valorize hard work and patriotism, Dr. Sanusi assured that the NFF is committed to giving the team its full support, including payment of their bonuses and allowances in the training camp and at the championship in Poland.
In his response, team captain Ikouwem Utin thanked the
Federation for the support given the team so far and pledged that the players
would give their very best to do Nigeria and Africa proud in Poland, while
maintaining discipline as their watchword.
The Flying Eagles, two –time silver medallists at the FIFA U20 World Cup finals, will fly out of Germany to Poland on 19th May, five days before their opening match of this year’s competition against Qatar’s U20 team in Tychy.
They would afterwards tackle the United States of America on Monday, 27th May in Bielsko-Biala before comcluding their group phase assignment against Ukraine on Thursday, 30th May at the same venue.
The 24 –nation championship will hold 23rd May – 15th June.
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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