International Football
Continental championship-bound Rivers Angels stumble again at Betsy Obaseki Cup
Rivers Angels endured a TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League build-up to forget as they suffered penalty shootout heartbreak in the 2021 Betsy Obaseki Cup final 4-3 defeat on penalties to Bayelsa Queens after a goalless draw in full time.
Edwin Okon’s side are gearing up for the maiden Women’s Champions League, where they will battle Kenya’s Vihiga Queens, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Morocco’s ASFAR in Group B in Egypt from November 5-19, 2021.
Smarting from the 2021 WAFU-B final defeat in Abidjan, where they lost 3-1 to Ghana’s Hasaacas Ladies in August, the Nigerian league champions were hoping for an ultimate redemption at the 12-team pre-season tournament but floundered yet again.
On Sunday, Rivers went up against their biggest domestic rivals Bayelsa Queens for a fourth time in 2021 in a bid for a third win, having won twice (1-0 and 4-0) and lost once (5-0) in their previous meetings.
Bayelsa made a fine start as Mary Anjor and Amada Mbadi forced Ghanaian goalkeeper Charlotte Adjei to fine saves, while Rivers duo of Maryann Ezenagu and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu threatened but no goal in the regulation time.
Straight to penalties, Ifeoma Ikenokwalu and Evelyn Nwabouku missed from the spot to see the Women’s Champions League hopeful missed another title celebration and no one was as disappointed as Ezenagu, despite being consoled with the Best Player of the Tournament award.
“I’m down psychologically losing two finals (WAFU-B) in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire and now (Betsy Obaseki Cup) in Benin, Nigeria. I don’t feel happy although I also think we gave our best and put in a lot of work,” Ezenagu told CAFOnline.com.
“I’m very grateful to the organizers for giving us (Rivers Angels) this great opportunity to compete. It has helped us a lot and I believe we will do better when we get to Egypt. I can assure everyone that we will do the country and Rivers Angels fans proud.”
Reviewing the tournament and teams’ performances, NFF first vice president Seyi Akinwunmi lauded the organizers over the successful event, while stressing that quality preparatory games were offered to Rivers Angels.
“I’m extremely impressed with the quality of competition by the teams and standard of organization by the organizers. We hope to see more of these for the development of women’s football,” Akinwunmi, who also oversaw the Aisha Buhari Cup recently won by South Africa, told Cafonline.com.
“The final was a tough match and I don’t think they (Rivers Angels) would get a tougher opponent on the continent (in Egypt). It is a good preparation tournament for them. I’m sure they will value and learn from it in order to do the country proud in Egypt.”
Rivers Angels were pipped by Bayelsa Queens to the coveted crown and Local Organising Committee chairperson Sabina Chikere is happy the championship gave some quality preparation for the country’s representative on the continent.
“I’m super excited that the invitational tournament was a huge success and the opportunity given to the women’s clubs. We hope to make this a yearly recent and hope to improve on the standards,” Chikere told Cafonline.com.
“This is a opportunity for Rivers Angels to assess themselves, sign new players to beef up their team and also know their lapses so as to represent the country well in Egypt.”
Sharing her excitement, wife of the Edo State governor Betsy Obaseki expressed joy of the success of the week long domestic showpiece and further backs Rivers Angels to make huge success on the continent come November.
“I’m very happy that we’re able to revive the past glory of the state in sports through women’s football and providing the platform to engage and promote the girl child and doing this in the campaign against child trafficking,” Obaseki, the initiator of the women’s club championship, told Cafonline.com.
“We’re excited with the quality of competition and also the opportunity to support Rivers Angels in their preparation for the Champion League. We are confident that their participation in this invitational will help them excel in Egypt.”
Rivers Angels will look to wrap up their preparation at the 2021 Flying Officer Cup in Abuja, Nigeria this month ahead of their Women’s Champions League opener against Moroccan side ASFAR at Military Academy Stadium on November 6, 2021.
–cafonline
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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