International Football
Neymar aiming for glory and redemption with Brazil in Qatar
Brazil’s Neymar will be 31 years old in February and Qatar could be his final bid to help his nation win a record-extending sixth World Cup title.
Neymar’s career has been a rollercoaster where high expectations have been frequently followed by disappointment and frustration. He is the most expensive player in soccer history but has perhaps struggled to fulfil his true potential, either with his clubs or with the national team.
Often criticised for being immature, self-centred, and generating as many headlines on the field as off it, Neymar has seemingly knuckled down this season, paying more attention to his physical and mental preparation ahead of the World Cup.
He decided to end his vacation a week early to start training with Paris St Germain in the close season and is having an outstanding campaign so far, among the leading players for goals and assists combined in Europe’s five major leagues.
One could argue that his relationship with the World Cup over the last 12 years reflects his entire career — a tale of hope, disappointment, controversy, pain and underachievement.
For the tournament in South Africa in 2010 he was left out of the final squad by coach Dunga, who didn’t believe the flamboyant then 18-year-old forward who had just broken through with Santos was ready for the big stage.
Four years later, he was an international superstar, playing alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona and the spearhead of the World Cup’s host nation.
Yet he sustained a cracked vertebrae in Brazil’s quarter-final victory over Colombia and watched from his hospital bed as his team mates suffered a humiliating 7-1 semi-final thrashing on home soil at the hands of Germany.
At Russia 2018, injuries again hampered his dream of winning a World Cup. Early in 2018, Neymar suffered a sprained right ankle that affected the fifth metatarsal in his foot.
He was never 100% during the tournament, playing through pain, and far from his peak when Brazil were knocked-out in the quarter-finals by Belgium.
A common denominator in both of Neymar’s appearances at the World Cup was his role as the lone difference-maker in Brazil teams that lacked the star power of generations past.
Throughout his career, Neymar has had to carry the load of being the Brazilian superstar of his generation.
Yet recently, others have surged to stardom in European soccer with the rise of young Brazilian players like Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes and others.
In Qatar, Neymar will for the first time have a supporting cast of the quality that Brazil was used to in the past.
It is the perfect opportunity for him to achieve glory and redemption by helping Brazil win the World Cup for the first time in two decades.
-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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