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ASISAT OSHOALA ELATED AS FIRST AFRICAN UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SCORER

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Even defeat of her team, Femeni FC Barcelona, Nigeria’s three-time ‘African Footballer of the Year’ recipient, Asisat Oshoala, was delighted to be the first African footballer to score a goal in the final match of Women version of UEFA Champions League on Saturday in Budapest, Hungary.

Oshoala is a Loanee from Dalian Quanjian in China as being a star player for the Barcelona side. Sadly her club lost 1-4 to defending champion of UEFA Champions League side FC Lyon of France. 

The French side, on record have won the trophy four time in a row and this season did not lose any match thus made them the overwhelming favorite to win the cup again.

But yesterday on her Instagram page, the Nigerian star player took time to appreciate the consolatory goal she scored for FC Barcelona in the 88th minute to reduce the tally to 1-4.

“I would like to appreciate this moment as the first ever Nigeria/African player to play in a UEFA Women’s Champions League final game and first ever to Nigerian/African player to score in final game and first to score FC Barcelona first UEFA Champions League final goal. “I promise to keep rapping this flag (Nigeria).#NoLimit#StandingOnMyOwn#Alhamdulilah#ProudMoment#LivingTheDream#ForTheRecord#HistoryRegardless of all this, still proud of this team (FCBarcelona). It is only the beginning…… silver today, gold tomorrow. We will keep fighting,” she expressed on her office a page on Instagram.

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Six hours after the post, Oshoala with 365k followers has had 17,688 likes and comments for the expression.

In the match on Saturday, first-time finalists, FC Barcelona almost led early on through Lionesses forward Toni Duggan, but after she fired narrowly wide, Lyon ruthlessly netted four times before the break.

Lyon continued their remarkable European dominance as Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg’s first-half hat-trick against Barcelona helped the French giants secure a fourth consecutive Women’s Champions League title.

Former Liverpool and Arsenal forward  Oshoala netted a late consolation for the Catalan club but they could do nothing to stop Lyon claiming a sixth European crown in eight years.

Having secured a 13th consecutive French league title in April, the French club were playing in their eighth European final since 2010, after a 3-2 aggregate win over Chelsea in the semi-finals.

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The best-funded side on the continent wrapped up the latest of their 23 major honours of this decade before half-time, largely thanks to Hegerberg’s clinical treble.

The 23-year-old made history as she became the first player to net a hat-trick in a Women’s Champions League final since the competition’s rebranding in 2010.

The Netherlands winger Shanice Van de Sanden’s pace down Lyon’s right created the game’s first two goals, as she crossed for Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan for the opener and then similarly for Hegerberg.

Amel Majri then squared the ball in the area for Hegerberg’s second, before Bronze’s whipped right-wing cross met the striker’s run perfectly to complete her 16-minute treble inside the first half hour.

The result saw Bronze who helped Lyon win last year’s final and Fishlock both earn the second European titles of their careers, although the Wales midfielder missed 2015’s final with German club Frankfurt because her loan spell from Seattle had ended.

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Meanwhile, FC Barcelona President, Josep Maria Bartomeu was proud of the team’s achievement and particularly delighted within the consolatory goal scored by Oshoala as a soul lifting for the team club in the years to come.

“You have marked a path. Reaching this final has already been extraordinary. We will return again! Congratulations!” He twitted after the match on Saturday.

Oshoala, who is an integral part of Nigeria’s national team for many years is expected to bring her form with the Spanish side this season to play when the Super Falcons aims to make a mark at the forth coming FIFA Women World Cup finals which gets underway from June 7th in France.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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International Football

Guinea names Portugal’s Duarte as new national coach

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African Cup of Nations - Semi Finals - Burkina Faso v Egypt- Stade de l'Amitie - Libreville, Gabon - 1/2/17 Burkina Faso coach Paulo Jorge Duarte Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh Livepic/File Photo

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.

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-Reuters

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Veteran coach Van Gaal says he is cured of cancer

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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.

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He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.

-Reuters

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Like father like son, Davide Ancelotti becomes Brazil’s Botafogo manager

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Davide Ancelotti, son of Brazil's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, has been appointed coach of Botafogo, the Rio de Janeiro club announced on Tuesday.

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.

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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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