After a difficult end in the Arabian Gulf League last season, Al Shabab face an onerous start to the new one.
Their opening match has been postponed because of Al Ain's Asian Champions League commitments, but it is still not any easier.
Shabab will travel to defending champions Al Ahli in the second week, host Al Nasr in the third and, after a visit to promoted Kalba, square-off against last season's runners-up Al Wahda.
A confident Caio Junior is relishing the challenge.
“Playing the best teams at the start gives you an opportunity to show what you are capable of,” said the Brazilian, who replaced compatriot Marcos Paqueta after Shabab’s free-fall in the final weeks of the 2013/14 season.
“If you can win those matches, it gives your confidence a massive boost and helps in shaping the rest of the campaign.”
Junior is confident his players can do that. When he arrived at the club in July, the former Al Jazira coach said he noticed a lack of self-belief and pressure among the players, but after five friendly matches on their trip to the Netherlands and three matches here during their internal camp in Khorfakkan, he is confident last season is a closed chapter.
“I am confident we will not finish this season without a title and that is our goal,” he said. “We have got four tournaments to achieve our objectives – the league, the League Cup, the President’s Cup and the GCC Clubs Championships.
“We have got a lot of quality in the team, players you can trust. They just need a lift in their confidence and morale. We also need to make sure we are playing them in the right positions and putting their potential to best use.
“The addition of Henrique Luvannor has also strengthened the team. He is an exceptional player and we have seen what he can do in the friendly matches. He is going to be the catalyst for the team.
“So wait for the matches to start – Luvannor will be the surprise of the season.”
FOREIGN PLAYERS
Henrique Luvannor
The only new foreign signing for the season, the Brazil-born naturalised Moldovan looks an exciting new addition. Starting his career as a defender, he moved to the attacking end of the pitch last season and scored a league-high 26 goals in 27 matches to help Sheriff Tiraspol win the Moldovan league title. He is 24.
Carlos Villanueva
A classy playmaker, the Chilean will be starting his fifth season with Shabab since his arrival from Blackburn Rovers in 2009. He missed the 2012/13 season because of knee surgery and probably did not meet the expectations of the fans in the last campaign, but misfiring strikers seemed more to blame for that. With Luvannor, he could form an exciting partnership.
Azizbek Haydarov
It would be tough to find a player in the AGL who works harder than the rugged Uzbek midfielder. He is forever in the middle of the action, in the midfield or defence, and in attack, too, if the strikers are having a bad day. A bit passionate, Haydarov does court trouble at times, but his effort is not questioned.
Edgar Bruno
He scored 15 goals last season, but with two red cards, seven yellows and few goals in the second half of the season, the 27-year-old Brazilian is fortunate to still be a part of Caio Junior’s squad. He had 13 goals in his debut season, when Shabab reached the President’s Cup final.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
More on animal trafficking
Tour de France Stage 16:
165km run from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isère
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
65
Directors: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Stars: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman
Rating: 2/5
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
'Falling for Christmas'
Director: Janeen Damian
Stars: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, Jack Wagner, Aliana Lohan
Rating: 1/5
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE (+4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The biog:
Favourite book: The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Pet Peeve: Racism
Proudest moment: Graduating from Sorbonne
What puts her off: Dishonesty in all its forms
Happiest period in her life: The beginning of her 30s
Favourite movie: "I have two. The Pursuit of Happiness and Homeless to Harvard"
Role model: Everyone. A child can be my role model
Slogan: The queen of peace, love and positive energy
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)