International Football
EAGLES & CHAN 2020: A MISS IS AS GOOD AS A MILE
For Super Eagles B team, the African Nations Championship in Cameroon is a mission impossible! Their hearts were just not large enough as they were only able to cancel two of the three goal deficit they carried from the first leg encounter with Togo.
With a 2-0 win at the Agege Stadium on Saturday even, the Nigerian side crashed out 4-3 on aggregate. And so, Togo makes a debut at the championship, which enters its sixth edition.
The Togolese put up a defensive strategy that frustrated the offensive instincts of the Nigerian side.
It was fierce and furious from the first blast of Nigerien referee Abdoulaye Rhissa Al-Mustapha’s whistle, with the Eagles aware before kick off that they needed to score a minimum of three goals without a reply to consign the visitors to elimination.
Nigeria’s attacking force of Ndifreke Effiong, Sunusi Ibrahim, Sunkanmi Olawoyin and Sikiru Alimi asked question after question of the Togolese defence.
In the eighth minute, Sikiru Alimi, who scored the Eagles B’s only goal in the first leg, scooped the ball from another attack and left his marker for dead before firing past goalkeeper Abdoul-Moubarak Aigba for the first goal of the day.
The goal further spurred the Eagles, and in the 19th minute Aigba was well –placed to save as Sunusi Ibrahim released a fierce shot. Another shot by Ibrahim nearly slipped into the net in the 25th minute, but Messan Toudji cleared off the line with Aigba beaten. Four minutes later, another shot by Ibrahim screamed away from goal.
In the 31st minute, Ibrahim side-netted after dragging past his marker, and just before half time, Effiong lifted the ball a little too high from a 20 –yard free kick.
In the second half, Togo defended even more stoutly, showing little concern for onslaughts on the Nigerian goal. In the 59th minute, Aigba again saved as Alimi nodded towards goal.
Alimi got his and Nigeria’s second of the day in the 71st minute – a scorcher from the edge of the box off a pass from Ndifreke Effiong.
Nigeria continued to throw everything into the game, looking for the third goal that would send them to Cameroon at the expense of Togo. But it never came, despite the boys giving it a good fight.
Instead, Togo’s Sparrow Hawks will make their first –ever appearance at the CHAN finals next year summer.
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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