International Football
Talented team mates will ease pressure on Neymar at World Cup, says Brazil great Ronaldo
Former Brazil and Real Madrid great Ronaldo thinks that although the pressure will be on Neymar to deliver for his country at next month’s World Cup in Qatar, he will be supported by the best team mates of his international career so far.
Ronaldo is no stranger to pressure on the global stage, having been a part of two World Cup winning squads with Brazil and most influential in their last triumph in Japan and Korea in 2002.
Neymar has often carried the hopes of a nation but has been unable to lead Brazil into a World Cup final, with the team crashing out in the quarter-finals to Belgium in the previous tournament in 2018.
However, Ronaldo backed the 30-year-old to flourish with a plethora of talent around him to help him out.
“The pressure will be over Neymar no matter what, he is Brazil’s superstar and it doesn’t matter who is playing along him,” Ronaldo told Reuters in Madrid on Friday before the world premiere of his documentary film ‘The Phenomenon’, a DAZN Original set to be released later this month.
“I love Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Raphinha and think this new generation of talent will give him the best supporting cast he has ever had with the Brazil national team.
“This is definitely a better team than the ones Brazil had in the last three World Cups. But the responsibility always lies with the biggest star, who is Neymar.”
UNTOLD MYSTERY
Ronaldo is the symbol of Brazil’s last World Cup title, having scored both goals as his team beat Germany 2-0 in the 2002 final in Japan.
He was also part of the squad that won the World Cup in 1994 at 17-years-old and has been named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and won two Ballon d’Or awards.
But Ronaldo said that he agreed to make a movie about his life because he felt the need to solve the untold mystery of the 1998 World Cup final.
Ronaldo went into the tournament in France, 1998 off the back of a stunning 34-goal debut season with Inter Milan and had scored four times up to the final with Brazil looking unstoppable.
However, something happened on the eve of the game with his health that changed the mood in the changing room. Reports circulated before the match in Paris that he was taken off the team sheet, before being restored. Brazil were thumped 3-0 by hosts France.
“It is a story that I wanted to tell with my own words what happened,” Ronaldo said.
“I feel it is the biggest story of my career and I thought that I held it too long by myself that I needed to share with other people.
“The moment was now and (being in) Madrid, on the eve of El Clasico on Sunday, was the perfect occasion to make it happen.”
Ronaldo played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona in his career and scored twice against Real in the 1996-97 campaign. Years later, wearing white, he would punish Barca up to four times in the biggest clash in Spanish football.
“It’s a sensation like no other. The nerves, the tension, the excitement, it gets to you in a way that no other game does because of the rivalry,” Ronaldo said ahead of the LaLiga clash at the weekend.
“But when the game starts, you forget about it and it’s just soccer.
“I feel really proud watching Vinicius, Rodrygo, Raphinha and all the Brazilians having success with Real and Barca. Sunday’s game will be amazing.”
-Reuters
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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