International Football
MY GAME SPEAKS FOR ME, SAYS MANE, AFRICA’S SOCCER KING
Sadio Mane was on Tuesday crowned as Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year for the first time at an awards gala in Egypt, but the Liverpool star admitted that he would rather be on the pitch and doing what he does best.
The 27-year old Senegalese forward was up against his club teammate Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian who won in the last two years, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City.
It is the second straight year that the top three are all from English clubs and only the third time that they all play in the same league.
“To be honest, I would prefer to be playing football than speaking in front of so many people,” Mane said at the ceremony organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Hurghada.
“Football is my job, I love it. I am really happy and at the same time, I am really proud to win this award. It’s a big day for me.”
He is the second winner from Senegal after El Hadji Diouf in 2001 and 2002.
He scored 34 goals and produced 12 assists in 61 appearances last year.
Salah’s tally stood at 26 goals and 10 assists in 55 matches while Mahrez accounted for 14 goals and 18 assists in 48 games last year.
Mane also shared last season’s Premier League Golden Boot award with Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with 22 goals.
Extending gratitude to people from his village Bambali, he said: “I would love to thank all the Senegalese people. They have been for me all the time, they push me.
“I must also thank my (Senegal) coach, Aliou Cisse and Liverpool, all my teammates there.”
Neither Salah nor Mahrez, who was playing and scored for City in their 3-1 League Cup semi-final, first-leg win over Manchester United, were present on Tuesday.
Mahrez tweeted: “Congratulations to Sadio for his trophy well deserved and sorry I couldn’t come but I had to start scoring for the 2020 trophy.”
The trio also played in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. Hosts Egypt crashed out in the last 16 while Algeria went on to beat Senegal 1-0 in the final.
Algeria also won the best team, coach (Djamel Belmadi), and Africa-based player (Youcef Belaili) awards.
Asisat Oshoala of Barcelona was the Women’s Player of the Year, joining fellow Nigerian Perpetua Nkwocha on four wins.
-AFP
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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