International Football
I WARNED AGAINST FIELDING OKWARAJI ON THE DAY HE DIED, SAYS PAT EKEJI
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
Former Nigerian international who also coached the national team, Pat Ekeji, has revealed that he cautioned against the fielding of Samuel Okwaraji on the day he died in 1989.
The all-round sports personality whose featured in all aspects of football as a player, coach, teacher at the National Institute of Sports, sports writer and later administrator, informed www.sportsvillagesquare.com that the death of Okwaraji was unfortunate, but he cautioned against the fielding of the player on that fateful August 12, 1989 match.
Okwaraji would have been 55 last Sunday and his birthday was marked by Google search engine placing his image on its home page.
“I queried the wisdom of fielding Okwaraji in that match as he happened to have been, from what I gathered, on a visit home since the soccer season in Europe was on break.
“Obviously his body was not yet tuned-in for sporadic movements to which he was introduced to under take in that match.
“It was either he was assigned the role of roving mid-field play without boundaries or he was sucked-in with the flow of the game that his cardiovascular function got over laboured because the system was yet in “holiday” phase.
“It was unlikely he had cardiovascular mal or sub-function as this would have been detected by his club’s medical team in Europe.”
Dr. Pat Ekeji who had handled the national team in 1985 and later rose to the pinnacle of Nigerian sports administration as Director General of the National Sports Commission recalled his earlier teachings.
“I used to teach the subject of the science of high performance training at the NIS when I was there and it was a core and compulsory subject Student that coaches must pass in order to acquire the basic coaching certificate – then Grade 3 Certification.
“I do not know what teaching goes on there today but I think too that some coaches do not take advice from the medical team. I know this. There is need more education in this field for our coaches and this one reason I keep advocating for the return of the NSC.
“The NIS today is like a “motherless” child. I doubt if it gets any attention at all. That sector is one of the four pillars of our sport development.”
Samuel Okwaraji slumped and died on the field in the 81st minute of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying duel with Angola.
Unknown
that he had died while he was stretched out of the field, Okwaraji was later
substituted by Ademola Adesina.
Sadly, the match at the Lagos National Stadium was Okwaraji’s first at the arena and it was the last time he lived. He was the only Nigerian player that got cautioned that day by Togolese referee Hounnake-Koussai.
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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