International Football
COULD MESSI, OTHER LA LIGA STARS BEEN ON DRUGS AS WADA WARNS SPANISH AUTHORITIES?
BY LIAM MORGAN
A survey in Spain which revealed 97.4 per cent of players do not know what substances are banned shows there is a “lot of work to be done” by the Spanish authorities regarding anti-doping in domestic football, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
A WADA spokesperson told insidethegames that the global anti-doping watchdog would contact the relevant officials in Spain following the release of the study, the results of which were described as “alarming” by the body.
The survey, conducted by the Granada University department of sports sciences, revealed 95 per cent of the 1,324 players who responded were unaware of the existence of WADA.
Five per cent admitted to taking banned substances during their careers, while 23.7 per cent claimed they were aware of a team-mate who had doped.
According to Spanish daily newspaper AS, the study covered 88 teams and included 304 players in the top three tiers of Spanish football.
“The results of this study are indeed alarming and seem to indicate that a lot of work remains to be done by the Spanish authorities in relation to anti-doping and domestic football,” the WADA spokesperson said.
“WADA will be in touch with the relevant authorities in Spain to ask how they plan to address this issue and offer any support that may be required.”
WADA has previously raised concerns about anti-doping in Spanish football.
In February 2017, it was revealed that there had not been any sanctioned anti-doping tests conducted on players in Spain’s top flight, La Liga, since the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport (AEPSAD) was declared non-compliant by WADA in March 2016.
AEPSAD claimed 57 tests had been done in the 2016-2017 season from 457 matches in the top two divisions.
Fears were partially allayed by the AEPSAD regaining compliance, while La Liga President Javier Tebas made the bold claim that there was no doping in Spanish football and that it was “not a big concern for us”.
Cases of doping in football remain surprisingly rare but WADA and others have raised issues with the lack of testing in the sport.
Arguably the highest-profile example came when Peru striker Paolo Guerrero tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.
Guerrero was initially ruled out of last year’s World Cup but his suspension was temporarily lifted so he could play in the tournament.
Frenchman Samir Nasri is among the other footballers to receive a drugs ban as he was given an 18 month suspension, extended from six months, for using a drip treatment when he was playing for Spanish club Sevilla.
-insidethegames
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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