International Football
FRENCH WORLD CUP WINNER MBAPPE, DREAMS PLAYING AT TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS
BY DUNCAN MACKAY.
France’s World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he wants to play for this country at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
But the 21-year-old, considered the best young player in the world, admitted that it would be up to his club Paris Saint-Germain whether he was allowed to take part or not.
“Playing in the Olympics, I don’t control everything,” he told France Football magazine.
“Of course I want to go, but if my club, which is my employer, doesn’t want me to go, I won’t force a clash.
“We’ll soon talk about it,”
Mbappe has already reassured French national coach Didier Deschamps that taking part at Tokyo 2020 would not be at the expense of playing in Euro 2020, due to take place across Europe next summer.
“The coach was adamant that it would never be to the detriment of the Euro,” Mbappe said.
“I reassured him by telling him that I also wanted to play in the Euro, and he said: ‘So it’s up to you to deal with the people it concerns’.”
Euro 2020 is due to take place between June 12 and July 2 and will be followed by the football tournament at Tokyo 2020, which is scheduled to start on July 23 – four days before the official opening of the Olympic Games – and finish with the final on August 8.
That day is the official start of the new 2020-2021 Ligue 1 season and Paris Saint-Germain may be reluctant to let a player they paid €180 million (£154 million/$201 million) for miss their opening match.
The Olympic Games is an under-23 tournament with each side allowed three overage players.
France qualified for Tokyo 2020 by reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino this year.
At the time, Mbappe responded to the team’s qualification by posting a message with a “TOKYO 2020” on Twitter accompanied by a flashing emoticon and a French flag.
Mbappe became the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final when he hit one of France’s goals in their 4-2 victory over Croatia at Russia 2018, one of four he scored during the tournament.
Even if he does not make it to Tokyo 2020 Mbappe insisted that will not be the end of his Olympic dream.
“If I don’t manage to go in 2020, I’ll still have 2024 left, in Paris,” he told France Football.
“I’d really like to do the Olympics at least once in my career.”
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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