International Football
Moroccan fans scramble for World Cup flights
Moroccans scrambled on Friday to get seats on the seven additional flights that state carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has announced to help soccer fans get to Qatar for the World Cup quarter final against Portugal.
Morocco, the last African country left in the tournament and the first Arab country to ever reach the quarter finals, has been gripped by excitement at the team’s World Cup performance, with victories over highly ranked Spain and Belgium.
A source at Morocco’s soccer federation said it had agreed with RAM that fans seeking tickets on the additional flights should have tickets for the Saturday match and a Hayya card – Qatar’s temporary entry visa for World Cup visitors.
However, several fans at a RAM office in Rabat said they were able to get air tickets with only the Hayya card and hoped to buy match tickets on arrival in Doha.
Ousama Ouaddich, waiting outside the Rabat RAM office in the rain on Thursday night, said he had managed to buy a ticket for the match but did not yet have a flight.
“It’s frustrating. We need more airplanes,” he said.
At home, the main fan zones with big screens are at a Casablanca stadium and in Marrakech, where a screen has been put up in the Jmaa al-Fnaa square, a UNESCO world heritage site.
During the match against Spain, the Jmaa al-Fnaa was hung with flags and throbbed to the chants of 30,000 fans, said Abdelmakel El Mansouri a member of the city council.
“We are expecting a similar or higher number of fans during the game against Portugal,” he said.
Fans attending the Casablanca stadium zone need to get there three hours early for a place, one of the organisers said.
Across the country, shops and stalls are doing a roaring trade in flags, national team shirts and T-shirts.
“Looking at how many T-shirts I have sold, I wish the World Cup lasted forever,” said Zouhir Sabir, a shop keeper in the old centre of Rabat. The price of clothes with national symbols had risen about 30% due to high demand, he said.
“Now you see people dressed normally. On the day of the match most people will be wearing colours of the national flag and football jerseys,” he said.
Even people with little interest in the sport joined the street celebrations that have followed Morocco’s progress through the tournament.
“I’m not usually a football fan and I know we have lots of economic problems in the country. But I think this is a special moment to celebrate,” said Abdellah Belhaj, a retired man in Rabat.
-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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