The "kings" of UAE football are the new samba boys of the Arabian Gulf League.
All four of Sharjah's foreign players – Mauricio Ramos, Wanderley, Luan and Leonardo Lima – are from Brazil, as is the coach, Paulo Bonamigo.
With that all-Brazilian cast, Sharjah are aiming higher this season after finishing seventh in the league last season on their return from Division One and reaching the semi-finals of the Arabian Gulf League Cup.
“The technical staff and the foreign players all speak the same language,” said Ibrahim Al Nimr, Sharjah’s chief executive.
“This will promote harmony within the team and contribute towards creating an atmosphere that will reflect on the performances on the pitch.”
Both Al Nimr and Bonamigo concede Sharjah did not finish as well as they would have liked last season.
They were among the league’s top four for much of the campaign, but injuries to key players saw them limp to the finish with only seven points from their final eight matches.
In the League Cup, they lost to eventual champions Al Ahli, with Ciel scoring the lone goal in the fourth minute of injury time.
“We faced a few problems with injuries towards the end of last season, and we have tried to make sure that scenario is not repeated by strengthening the squad,” Bonamigo said. “Still, I believe we managed to meet our targets by giving a stiff competition to the top teams and reaching the semis of the League Cup.
“This season, we should aim higher. My primary goal is to see Sharjah reclaim their former glory and compete for the titles in every tournament.
“To be able do that, we will have to work even harder and every player is ready for it.”
Ramos, the surviving member of last year’s foreign quartet, shares his coach’s optimism.
“The new players we have brought in have great potential and with their help and the support of the rest of the players I am confident we will provide a better season than the past,” said Ramos, who will be Sharjah’s captain and Asian player this season after getting Palestinian citizenship.
FOREIGN PLAYERS
Mauricio Ramos
Last season, Sharjah finished with the best defence in the league, having conceded only 25 goals. They kept a clean sheet in nine matches and conceded one in 10 other games, and Ramos played a big part in that impressive performance. The Brazilian, 29, is rock solid in central defence; even the likes of Grafite and Asamoah Gyan struggled to get past him.
Luan Michel de Louza
Ramos’s teammate at Brazilian club Palmeiras is a quality striker who earned a move to French club Toulouse after just two seasons of professional football. Known as “Luan”, he spent the past season on loan to Cruzeiro. Teammates launched an online campaign urging him to stay when Sharjah came asking, but Luan, 25, chose the new challenge.
Wanderley Santos Monteiro
The Brazilian comes to Sharjah on the back of a good season with Qatari club Al Arabi, where he scored 12 goals to finish among the top five in the league. Wanderley, 25, has played under Paulo Bonamigo in Brazil and the coach is confident the forward, in tandem with Luan, can provide the goals his team were missing last season.
Leonardo Lima
A late replacement for the injured Fellype Gabriel, Lima is one of the longest-serving foreign players in the Arabian Gulf League. He arrived at Al Nasr in 2010 and quickly established himself as a fan favourite with his commanding presence in the midfield. Shopped out by Nasr this summer, Lima, 32, will be looking to remind his former club what they are missing.
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Racecard
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
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