DUBAI // When Walter Zenga was setting the targets for his Al Nasr team at the start of the season, at the top of that list was a very modest desire: to avoid relegation.
Last night, with 11 games still to go in the Pro League, he ticked that off with a battling 2-1 win over Al Shabab.
The victory took their tally to 21 points, one more than the 20 that Ittihad Kalba accumulated when they got relegated last season, and the Italian believes that is reason enough to celebrate.
"We are very happy because with this win we are safe as we have 21 points now," Zenga said.
"If you see last season, Kalba went down with 20 points and we now have 21.
"This was our first target when we started the season - to become safe as soon a possible.
"From now on every game is a challenge and we will see where we can finish.
"We can play freely now, without any pressure and enjoy our game. Our players have shown they can be competitive if they work hard, so let's see what happens.
"But first all we are very happy because the players have done a great job. They are amazing and I am proud to be a coach of these players."
Twenty of Nasr's 21 points have come from the last eight games, a period during which they have remained unbeaten.
Last night's win allowed them to leapfrog Shabab into third position behind Al Ain (27) and Al Jazira (23). Shabab remain in fourth on 19.
Fortuitous first-half strikes from Masoud Hassan and Humaid Abdulla Abbas sealed the fate of the match, though Julio Cesar's 64th minute penalty did raise hopes of a Shabab fightback.
While Zenga was unhappy with the spotkick, the Italian goalkeeping legend believes his team were guilty of letting their guard down after taking a two-goal lead.
"We relaxed after 2-0 and we need to change this," Zenga said. "We need to improve this aspect of our game because anything can happen during a match."
Hassan struck the opener, but could hardly believe his luck.
He was attempting a centre from the right, but the ball did not travel as he intended.
Instead it caught Salem Abdulla, the Shabab keeper, at his backpost as the ball beat him at his near upright.
Abdulla had done well four minutes earlier to keep a scorching Rodrigo Vergilio volley out, but was helpless against Hassan's freak goal.
Nasr's second in the 21st minute seemed a bit of a gift as well, although it was brilliantly executed by Abbas.
Stealing the ball close to the half-line, he darted forward but ran into Essa Mohammed, who should have cleared the ball.
Instead, the Shabab defender missed completely and Abbas finished off with a booming volley to the far corner.
"It was a very difficult game," Paulo Bonamigo, the Shabab coach, said. "We knew Nasr are playing at their best and going through a purple patch, but we played below our expectations in the first half.
"Our plan was not to concede an early goal, not allow Nasr to counter attack, but we did exactly that. In the second half, we played a lot better. That was the real Shabab team playing."
Shabab pulled a goal back when Linardo Lima elbowed Carlos Villanueva. The referee pointed to the spot and Cesar converted the penalty.
Cesar had a golden opportunity to level the scores in the 88th minute when Villanueva sent him clear, but the Brazilian failed to control the ball and crashed into Abdulla Moosa, the Nasr keeper, allowing him to waste precious moments in the closing minutes.
"We have to learn to not commit those defensive mistakes again," Bonamigo said.
"The defenders have to realise how difficult it is to score one goal. We conceded two silly goals and we did the same against Al Ain."
DIEGO MARADONA OPERATED UPON
Diego Maradona, the Al Wasl coach, is in hospital having undergone an operation to remove kidney stones.
The Argentine legend complained of some stomach pain yesterday morning, and was taken to a private hospital for a check-up, which revealed the problem. He was operated on last night and is expected to be released sometime today.
Wasl, who ended their five-match winless streak in the Pro League with a 2-1 victory at Al Ahli on Saturday night, had received more bad news earlier in the day when it was confirmed Ahmed Darwish was suffering from a torn hamstring.
Darwish had limped out of the match against Ahli in the 23rd minute and is likely to be out of action for six weeks.
The defender has been one of Wasl’s more impressive performers this season.
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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.”
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
