International Football
Ikenne, Osibajo’s hometown, showcases football talents at the English Premiership
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
When the English Premiership kicks off for the 2021/22 football season on 13 August, at least three players from Ikenne, the home town of Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osibajo, will be in action.
From hardcore politics to sports, the narrative is changing for the town which is the melting pot for South West politics having produced the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
The geographical urban village is noted for producing the highest number per square metre of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN). Till date, there have been over 20 SANs to have emerged from the town.
The town boasts of eminent jurists. Apart from Awolowo, Vice President Osibajo, a professor, is one of the SANs including a former Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kehinde Sofola and the town also simultaneously had the Attorney General of Lagos and Ogun states when two brothers – Yemi and Akin were on the saddle from 2003 to 2007.
Social commentator, Tai Solarin was also one of the illustrious sons of Ikenne. From politics and legal practice, the town is now edging into producing football stars.
With a fast rising football club, Remo Stars owned by Kunle Soname who is also the first Nigerian to acquire a foreign club as the owner of Clube Desportivo Feirenses, in the Liga Portugal 2club in the Portuguese league, Ikenne will in the next English Football Season line out three of its products.
Michael Obafemi, a Nigerian-born Irish player is of Ikenne parentage and will be featuring for Southampton.
Last season, he dealt a devastating blow on Manchester United’s initial attempt at top four when he scored a last minute goal that made United to tumble from third position to the fifth.
Next is another Ikenne son, Dapo Mebude has just completed a move from Scottish side, Glasgow Rangers to English Premiership side, Watford.
The 19 year old was one of the six players of Nigerian roots that the NFF president, Amaju Pinnick met at the weekend during Oghenekaro Etebo’s first training session with the Vicarage Road side.
The other Nigerians at Watford are William Ekong, Emmanuel Dennis and former junior internationals, Isaac Success and Tom Dele-Bashiru.
Dapo Mebude, whose father, Babtunde Awokoya-Mebude has sports running in the family. He was a striker during his secondary school days at United High School in Ikenne in the 1980s.
His first son, Adedoyin is into athletics and had a stint in sprint. He set up an outfit called Totalsocceplus which now manages his siblings.
Both Adedoyin and Dapo have a younger brother, Dire Mebude who has just signed a professional contract with Premiership champions, Manchester City.
Dire Mebude was initially with Manchester City youth side, but the pacy striker has now graduated to the main squad.
Both Dapo and Dire were born in London before their parents moved to Scotland and after attending an open soccer school event organised by Glasgow Rangers rose from youth side into the club’s main squad.
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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