International Football
Brazil still targeting Ancelotti as next coach – CBF president
Brazil are still intent on making Carlo Ancelotti their new coach and federation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues said he would use the national team’s friendlies in Europe to talk to the Real Madrid boss.
Rodrigues said he would also approach the Spanish club’s president Florentino Perez and described Ancelotti as their first choice to replace Tite, who left the Brazil team after their quarter-final exit at the World Cup in Qatar in November.
“He remains the Plan A and in this trip with the selection in Europe we can have greater clarity,” Rodrigues said on Tuesday in a press event at CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil will play Guinea in Spain on June 17 and Senegal in Lisbon, Portugal on the 20th.
“The trip will be very significant for us (to decide the future coach). I intend to talk to Ancelotti and the president of Real Madrid. Only after that will it be possible to say if it will happen or not,” Rodrigues added.
The Italian coach has a contract with Madrid until 2024 with a termination penalty in the agreement. According to Rodrigues, this should not hinder any possible deal with Brazil.
“The issue, for sure, is not the fine. The problem is the contract and nobody wants to break it,” he said. “We are invested in this idea and we are doing everything in our power to make it work and become a reality.”
Last month, Ancelotti dismissed Brazil’s interest by saying he would honour the last year of his contract with Real Madrid.
The Brazilian national team have been without a coach since their World Cup exit and lost their first friendly of the year 2-1 to Morocco in March, led on an interim basis by U-20 coach Ramon Menezes, who will be back for the friendly matches on European soil this month.
-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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