International Football
Qatar 2022: Africa to field all home-grown coaches at World Cup
Africa will have five home-grown coaches at the World Cup finals for the first time in a breakthrough that could lead to a change of mindset and more opportunity for locals.
Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia all head to Qatar next week with a local in charge, representative of a dramatic shift in attitude from football leaders on the continent.
Previously, African teams at the World Cup have overwhelmingly been led by coaches from Europe or Latin America.
In 2010, when Africa had six teams at the finals, only Algeria were led by a home-grown coach while at the 1998 finals, all five African representatives had Europeans in command.
The preference for coaches from outside the continent had been the norm for decades, both in national team ranks and also at club level but is a trend that is now being vigorously questioned.
“Something is happening at the level of coaches on the African continent,” said Aliou Cisse, who is taking Senegal to a second successive World Cup, referring to the new-found abundance of African coaches in top jobs across the continent.
It is significant switch from Russia four years ago when Cisse was one of two African coaches at the 2018 World Cup with the other three at the head of African teams coming from Argentina, France and Germany.
“Our dream is for African expertise to be valued as well, for people to understand that in Africa there are very good coaches,” Cisse said in a recent interview.
The change in attitude has followed success for African coaches in continental competition in recent years.
The last two Africa Cup of Nations have been won by teams with an African at the helm while the past seven CAF Champions League winning coaches have all been African.
Morocco appointed former international defender Walid Regragui to the post two months ago after he had taken Wydad Casablanca to Champions League success in May.
Cameroon will be led by Rigobert Song, who is among their most capped players; Tunisia by Jalel Kadri and Ghana have Otto Addo, another former international in charge.
“These are people that might have had past success and been good coaches in Europe but for African football, you need the right coach for the right moment,” cautions Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet, a Belgian with more than a decade’s experience of African football.
“Someone who understands African football, one understands the culture, who understands the pros and the cons of working with an African team and someone who can get the maximum out of them,” he told Reuters.
-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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