International Football
AMUNEKE AIMS AT BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN EGYPTIAN CLUB, MAQASSA
Maqassa of Egypt’s new Nigerian coach, Emmanuel Amunike says he has big ambitions to achieve with the Egyptian Premier League club, insisting that his players only need some confidence to return back to winning ways.
According to Egyptian publication, Ahram, Amuneke said:
“I agreed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Maqassa to build a strong team with young players in the coming period,” Amuneke said in an interview with Al-Ahram Al-Riyadi magazine published on Wednesday.
Earlier in February, struggling side Maqassa named Zamalek’s great and former African player of the year Amunike as their new coach, replacing ex-Egypt striker Mido who was shown the door after a string of poor results saw the team drop to fourth from bottom in the league table.
“The team includes good players who only lack confidence in their abilities. I told them they need to be determined to win again to restore their confidence in themselves,” Amuneke said.
In the first match under the 49-year-old’s guidance, Maqassa played out a 1-1 draw with El-Entag El-Harby on Saturday.
Maqassa currently lie third from bottom with 14 points from 17 matches, one behind the safety zone, but Amuneke is optimistic about his team chances of staying in the top flight.
“The team is in a very difficult situation, but our players can pass it. I know the teams’ circumstances well and my mission is to find solutions to quickly restore the balance,” he added.
“I told the players that changing their positions on the field in every game has been the main reason for the poor results.”
Happy with Egypt return
Returning to the country where he made his name as a deadly forward in the early 1990s, Amuneke expressed his great delight, welcoming the idea of taking charge of Cairo giants Zamalek one day.
He joined Zamalek from Nigeria’s Julius Berger in 1991 and went on to win two domestic league titles and one African Champions League crown in a glorious three-year spell with the club.
Amuneke also played for Portugal’s Sporting, Spanish giants Barcelona and Albacete before ending his career at Jordanian club Al-Wehdat in 2004.
“Egypt is my second country, where I had beautiful memories for three years and I am happy with the warm welcome everywhere,” he said.
“Working at Zamalek is a hope for any coach as it isa big club, but I am happy at Maqassa and I am working hard to achieve my ambitions there.
“Returning back to winning ways and also to become among the top four is my priority and then I can think of any other steps.”
On the international level, Amuneke was part of Nigeria’s golden generation that won the Nations Cup in 1994 and reached the last 16 of the World Cup several months later. He was named Africa’s best player in the same year before leading the U-23 side to the Olympic gold medal in 1996.
Amuneke had mixed fortunes in his brief managerial tenure, however. He guided Nigeria’s U-17 side to World Cup glory in 2015 but had unsuccessful spells with Julius Berger and Ocean Boys in his home country as well as Sudan’s Al Khartoum SC.
He then took charge of the Tanzanian national team but they bowed out of last year’s Nations Cup at the group stage after losing all their three game
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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