International Football
FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP KICKS OFF IN UAE
BY APESIN ADEMOLA.
The 15th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday with host club Al-Ain FC going up against Team Wellington FC, the Oceania Champions League title holders.
That fixture marks the first round of the championship, which will also have champions of Europe (Real Madrid, the tournament’s defending champions) and that of South America (River Plate) entering in the semi-finals, while African champions Espérance, their Asian counterparts Kashima Antlersand CD Guadalajara, the champions of North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) will get involved from the quarterfinals.
Based in the city of Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, the host club are the most successful side in the UAE having won the most titles (32), including 13 UAE Pro-League trophies, six President’s Cups and five Super Cups. Al-Ain is the only UAE club to have claimed the Asia Champions League.
This is their first time in the FIFA Club World Cup, which is the same situation with their opponents Team Wellington FC, New Zealand’s semi-professional club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington.
The winning team will go on to face Espérance on Saturday. The Tunisian side won the 2017/18 CAF Champions League last month, to make it the third time they will lift that trophy.
At their first time in this competition in 2011, Espérance lost their first match,which was in the quarterfinals, to Asia’s Al-Sadd SC 1-2 and also got beaten 2-3 by CONCACAF’s CF Monterrey in the fifth placed match.
Africa’s best performances have been runners-up status achieved by TP Mazembe in 2010 and Raja Casablanca three years later.
In all the past 14 editions, champions have only come from Europe (10 times) and South America (4). Past winners included Barcelona and Real Madrid (three times each)with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Bayern München also crowned champions.
South America dominated the first three editions through Corinthians, São Paulo FC and Internacional as champions while Corinthians won it again after five years of European victories.
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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