International Football
NIGERIA’S SUPER FALCONS DEPART AVITA RESORT, FLY TO FRANCE ON TUESDAY
African champions Nigeria have departed the Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria, where they were on a two-week residential camping, and will spend Monday night in Vienna before flying to Paris on Tuesday for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
Spirit is high in the team’s camp after handsome wins in two friendly matches against top clubs in Eastern Europe. On Tuesday, they defeated Hungarian Premier Division side, Halandas Viktoria 5-1 in Hungary and on Sunday, put three past ZNK Pormuje in Slovenia.
Individual accomplishments are also a booster. Asisat Oshoala, who scored a brace in each of the friendly matches, has secured a substantive contract with FC Barcelona Ladies in Spain. Only weeks ago, she became the first African to score in the final of the UEFA Women’s League even as FC Barcelona lost to defending champions Olympique Lyon in France.
Uchenna Kalu, who scored the other goal against Pormuje on Sunday, is in a rich vein of form, after scoring nine goals to emerge top scorer of the WAFU Women Cup of Nations in Abidjan just before the trip to Austria.
There is a new bounce to the steps of power forward Desire Oparanozie, who has been made captain of the squad, and energetic winger Franciscca Ordega is rearing to go after fully settling down to football life in China.
Petite forward Rasheedat Ajibade will be attending her first major finals as a foreign –based professional, and Chinwendu Ihezuo, who scored against Viktoria in Hungary, is also in great mood after settling down in China.
Goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi, defenders Onome Ebi, Osinachi Ohale and Ngozi Ebere, and midfielders Ngozi Okobi and Halimatu Ayinde, who played key roles in Nigeria’s triumph at the Women Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana late last year, are all confident the Falcons can pull surprises in France.
The Falcons are up against Norway in their first match of the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Stade Auguste Delauney in Reims on Saturday, before other Group A matches against Korea Republic (Grenoble, 12th June) and host nation France (Rennes, 17th June).
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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