International Football
Gernot Rohr set to take Mali job
Former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has confirmed he has held talks with Mali about their vacant managerial role.
Mali’s football federation (Femafoot) is looking to fill the void created by the sacking of Mohamed Magassouba following the team’s round of 16 exit at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations and March’s 2022 World Cup play-off defeat.
Femafoot’s hierarchy are impressed by Rohr’s work across the continent, especially as coach of Nigeria, from whom he is seeking $1m compensation for unfair dismissal.
“The conversation with Mali has been very professional and respectful,” Rohr told BBC Sport Africa.
“It takes some days but nothing has been finalised. Mali has a young team with potential so it is very interesting.”
Rohr, who has previously managed Niger, Gabon and Burkina Faso, was dismissed by Nigeria in December, just four weeks before the Nations Cup in Cameroon.
The 68-year-old remains high on Mali’s list of potential candidates to replace Magassouba but he is not the only name being considered.
Former international Eric Sekou Chelle, 44, and ex-Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer, 72, who led the Indomitable Lions to the 2002 Nations Cup title, are also of interest to the Femafoot board.
After retiring in 2014, former Lens defender Chelle began his coaching career at Marseille Consolat, before managerial spells at Martigues and Boulogne, in the third and fourth tier of French football.
German Schafer, who has four decades of managerial experience across four continents, helped Cameroon to 2002 continental success and a runners-up finish at the 2003 Fifa Confederations Cup.
Mali are determined to finalise discussions and announce their new coach as soon as possible, with qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations due to start in the international window from 30 May.
Runners up in the 1972 tournament, the Eagles will face Congo, South Sudan and The Gambia in Group G.
The West Africans have also announced a friendly in the United States against World Cup-bound Ecuador on 11 June at the Pratt & Whitney Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.
-BBC
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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