One of the great unanswered questions in Asian football currently must be about the decline of Saudi Arabia as a regional power over the past few years.
Time was during the 1980s, 90s and even the first half of the last decade that Saudi Arabia were undisputed bosses of the continent.
That question came sharply into focus last night as one of their most established clubs, Al Ahli won their Asian Champions League last-16 tie against Abu Dhabi's Al Jazira at the Mohammad bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE capital.
Just sample these achievements. The national side made five consecutive Asian Cup finals from 1984 to 2000, winning it three times.
They qualified for four consecutive World Cups until 2006.
In their first, in 1994, a golden generation gleaned from the 1989 Under 17 World Cup-winning side made it to the second round from a group that included Holland (to whom they only lost 2-1 after taking the lead) and Belgium whom they beat 1-0.
Their club sides were regular visitors to the latter stages of the continent's club championships; Riyadh's Al Hilal and Jeddah's Al Ittihad have won this tournament twice each and finished runners-up besides.
Only South Korea and Japan have produced more club champions.
Saeed Al Owairan's goal against Belgium in 1994, a Maradona-esque run that took him past half the side from his own half, captured something of the astounding individual skill many of their players brought.
But it didn't reveal the collective beauty of their best sides, built on elegant short passing and geared towards an essentially counter-attacking game.
It was within this template that men such as Saleh Al Naeema, the Saudi Beckenbauer, Majed Abdullah, the desert Pele and the country's greatest player, the buccaneering midfielder Fouad Amin, the wispy youngster Khalid Al Rowaihi (who like the UAE's Theyab Awana, died in a car crash far too young) and Sami Al Jaber thrived.
In acknowledgement to the climate they grew up in, these were patient footballing sides, taking their time with the ball before suddenly, beautifully picking a way through.
Glimpses of that approach were evident in Al Ahli's performance last night.
They refused to hoof the ball aimlessly anywhere, forever looking for just the right pass and sometimes looking for it one time too many.
For vast periods they seemed to be doing nothing, and Jazira's front two of Bare and Ricardo Oliveira muscled their way into promising positions early on.
But every now and again, as when Marcelo Camacho secured the lead for Ahli after 22 minutes and when Amad Al Sulaiman equalised, they introduced an intricate incision into their game that spoke of a greater tradition of sophistication.
At least a hint of the answer to their fall lay in this game.
Jazira's physicality in approach seemed just too much for Ahli, especially in midfield where they were regularly muscled out of the way.
Jazira's players just seemed so much bigger on many occasions and it is a sense that has blighted Saudi Arabia on the international stage more recently.
Forget the European or South American sides, even other Asian teams such as South Korea appear fitter and stronger.
Ahli, of course, may be an established and proud club as evident in the small but extremely vocal travelling support at the stadium.
But they are not their country's best.
They've only won the league twice and are cup specialists - they won the King's Cup just last week and have won the two main cup tournaments 15 times.
Even as the game stretched into extra-time, the physicality looked like it might prove decisive. Ahli looked pretty but Jazira more robust.
And though Ahli went through on penalties, it still felt like a little bump as a new, more physical world was in danger of passing Saudi Arabia by.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
