International Football
North Korean soccer players clash with referee after losing to Japan
North Korea soccer coach Sin Yong Nam defended his players after several clashed with match officials on the pitch after their 2-1 defeat to Japan in the Asian Games quarter-finals in Hangzhou on Sunday.
North Korea captain Jang Kuk Chol and team mate Kim Kyong Sok remonstrated heatedly with referee Rustam Lutfullin after the final whistle, pursuing the Uzbek in the middle of the pitch as he tried to back away.
With the confrontation drawing in the assistant referees and several security staff, the North Korean coach also ran to his players to try to defuse the situation.
The North Korean players were earlier furious when Lutfullin awarded a penalty to Japan after goalkeeper Kang Juh Yok charged out and clipped the feet of Jun Nishikawa with an outstretched arm.
Waving his arms and shaking his head, an angry Kang argued with the referee before Yuta Matsumura slotted home from the spot in the 80th minute to see Japan through at the Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium.
“I admit that our players were a little bit over-excited in the match but it is football,” Sin said at the post-match press conference.
“But there are confrontations in football matches… I think our behaviour is acceptable.”
Japan coach Go Oiwa declined to comment on the incident when asked.
“This match was as we expected,” he said through a translator.
“There are some things (we are) not happy about in the match but basically we can accept that.”
Kotaro Uchino scored the first goal for Japan with a helpful deflection off a North Korea player in the 50th minute before Kim Kuk Bom levelled the match with a stunning, long-range strike.
Japan moved into a semi-final with Hong Kong who pulled off a 1-0 upset of former winners Iran.
Defending champions South Korea cruised into the last four with a comfortable 2-0 victory over hosts China. They will face Uzbekistan following the Central Asians’ 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.
-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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