International Football
TOKYO 2020: SUPER FALCONS TO REGROUP FOR COTE D’IVOIRE
Ahead of the second round of the African qualifying series of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics women’s football tournament, a total of 30 home-based professionals will arrive at the Super Falcons’ hotel camp in Abuja on Sunday to kick-start preparations for the clash with the Senior Women National Team of Cote d’Ivoire.
Seven overseas-based professionals will join the group before the trip to Abidjan for the first leg.
Already, world football –governing body, FIFA has directed that both legs of the qualifying fixture must be concluded between 30th September and 8th October 2019.
The Nigeria Football Federation has already picked Sunday, 6th October for the return leg match, slated for the Agege Stadium, Lagos. The venue hosted the return leg of Nigeria/Algeria in the earlier round, with the Falcons winning by a lone goal to push out the Algerians on a 3-0 aggregate.
Cote d’Ivoire also emerged 3-0 aggregate winners, eliminating Mali from the series to set up a clash with nine –time African champions Nigeria.
Asisat Oshoala, scorer of the lone goal against Algeria in Lagos on 3rd September, heads the list of the overseas-based professionals that also includes defenders Osinachi Ohale and Chidinma Okeke, midfielders Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene and Chinaza Uchendu, and forwards Francisca Ordega and Rasheedat Ajibade.
Midfielder Osarenoma Igbinovia heads the list of 30 home-based professionals.
All invited home-based players are expected to arrive at the Chida Hotel, Abuja on Sunday, 15th September 2019.
HOME-BASED PROS
Goalkeepers: Christy Ohiaeriaku (Delta Queens); Tochukwu Oluehi (Rivers Angels); Onyinyechukwu Okeke (Bayelsa Queens); Chiamaka Nnadozie (Rivers Angels)
Defenders: Glory Ogbonna (Ibom Angels); Opeyemi Sunday (Sunshine Queens); Abidemi Ibe (Bayelsa Queens); Ugochi Emenayo (Nasarawa Amazons); Margaret Etim (Rivers Angels); Maryam Ibrahim (Nasarawa Amazons); Mary Ologbosere (Rivers Angels); Blessing Edoho (Ibom Angels); Tosin Dimeyin (Sunshine Queens)
Midfielders: Osarenoma Igbinovia (Bayelsa Queens); Ihuoma Onyebuchi (Sunshine Queens); Folashade Ijamilusi (FC Robo); Suliat Abideen (Sunshine Queens); Josephine Mathias (Rivers Angels); Amarachi Okoronkwo (Nasarawa Amazons); Regina Otu (Edo Queens); Cecilia Nku (Rivers Angels)
Forwards: Adejoke Ejalonibu (Nasarawa Amazons); Rafiat Sule (Rivers Angels); Tessy Biahwo (Bayelsa Queens); Alice Ogebe (Rivers Angels); Aloko Abdulkareem (Nasarawa Amazons); Gift Monday (FC Robo); Lola Philips (Nasarawa Amazons); Titilayo Aweda (Confluence Queens); Cynthia Aku (Rivers Angels)
OVERSEAS-BASED PROS:
Rasheedat Ajibade (Avaldsnes, Norway); Osinachi Ohale (CD Tacon, Spain); Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene (Eskilstuna DFF, Sweden); Francisca Ordega (Shanghai Zyhongyuan, China); Asisat Oshoala (FC Barcelona, Spain); Chinaza Uchendu (SC Braga, Portugal); Chidinma Okeke (Madrid CFF, Spain)
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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