Sport
Capello Says Ancelotti Helped Mbappe Overcome His Slow Start at Real Madrid
Legendary Italian coach Fabio Capello has shed light on how Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti played a key role in helping Kylian Mbappe find his form after a rough start.
The French World Cup winner arrived at Madrid last summer after a long transfer saga following his dominance in France with PSG. Expectations were sky-high, but his early days at Valdebebas were far from smooth. He failed to score in his first three La Liga matches and managed just one goal in Madrid’s first five Champions League games.
However, Mbappe has since turned things around. He has scored six goals in his last four Champions League appearances and netted eight times in his last nine La Liga games.
Speaking to the press, Capello credited Ancelotti for understanding Mbappe’s needs and guiding him back to his best. “He has helped Kylian Mbappe a lot, and that is his merit. The most important thing for a coach is to understand his players and where he wants to go. If he doesn’t, it’s a failure. Ancelotti understands him perfectly,” Capello said.
He also dismissed early criticism of the French star, adding, “Many people doubted him, but they didn’t understand anything. Now, you can see he is an extraordinary player at the highest level.”
Mbappe has now scored 27 goals and provided four assists in 39 appearances across all competitions this season, proving once again why he is one of the best in the world.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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Super Eagles Star Calvin Bassey Opens Up on Nearly Walking Away from Football
