AL AIN // The Asian Champions League campaign for Al Ain began much like their last one concluded.
The Garden City club, the only UAE team to have been crowned champions of the continent, went agonisingly close in November to adding a second title, their long wait for the trophy they crave most extended by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 3-2 aggregate win.
Back then, spurned opportunities against the South Koreans cost the 2003 champions dear. On Tuesday, as Al Ain embarked on their first foray back in Asia’s premier club competition, it seemed little had changed.
Once more, the UAE side were found wanting in front of goal at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, wasting several chances before Iran’s Zobahan pounced for a second-half lead through Jerry Bengtson.
Suddenly, Al Ain’s opening Group C encounter appeared destined for defeat. Then Ismail Ahmed showed his forwards the way forward.
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Where Ibrahim Diaky had failed, where Caio had frustrated and where Al Ain in general had fumbled, the rangy centre-back flourished, heading home a 76th-minute corner.
So Al Ain escaped with a point. Yet, up against the fourth-placed team in the Iranian top flight, it really should have been more. As it is, the club who consider themselves at the cutting edge of Emirati football look rather blunt.
“When we see what happened through the 90 minutes on the pitch, I’m not happy with the result,” said manager Zoran Mamic, Al Ain’s recently appointed successor to Zlatko Dalic.
“My team deserve victory, my team deserve the three points, especially in the first half when we played very good football and controlled the game. But football is played for goals and we didn’t score.”
Captain Omar Abdulrahman, the reigning Asian Player of the Year who secured another official man-of-the-match award, echoed his manager’s sentiments.
“I wished to achieve the three points, but we were in full control all the match and we were the more dangerous team,” the Al Ain playmaker said.
“But football is no more than goals – if you don’t score you will lose the points.”
Oh, what Al Ain would give for a 2014 Asamoah Gyan, whose 12 goals that year went unrivalled in the tournament. They also carried Al Ain to the semi-finals. Against Zobahan, his former employers simply needed someone to carry them over the line.
Mamic had opted to start Nasser Al Shamrani on the bench, leaving midfielder Diaky to operate as the side’s most advanced player. Loaned last month as a replacement for the misfiring Douglas, Al Shamrami has not displayed enough to suggest he could be the answer to Al Ain’s most obvious ill. This was another nod to that.
Even with Diaky in his place, and Omar Abdulrahman and Caio buzzing around him, Al Ain struggled to convert their superiority to goals.
Almost from the off, the hosts missed a host of opportunities, Caio miscuing on more than one occasion and both Omar Abdulrahman and Mohammed Abdulrahman forcing Zobahan goalkeeper Mohammed Mazaheri into action. In the 21st minute, Diaky had a header correctly disallowed for offside.
The pattern continued in the second half, Diaky soon shooting off target with only Mazaheri to beat. Then, on 57 minutes, the suckerpunch came. Khalid Essa had blocked from Zobahan’s Ehsan Pahlevan, but the Iranian reacted fastest to cross low for Bengtson to slide the ball into the empty net.
Predictably, Al Ain pressed forward, yet it was not until substitute Bandar Al Ahbabi’s corner that they broke through. Starting his run from distance, Ahmed rose expertly to nod down past Mazaheri.
It could have been much better for Al Ain in injury time, but Ahmed was denied another headed goal by the visiting goalkeeper. Crucially, though, it should not be left to their veteran defender to rescue the result.
Al Ain have much to work on, as Mamic referenced after the match. Given it was only Matchday 1, they have time on their side.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Remaining fixtures
Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday
Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
LAST 16 DRAW
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Valencia
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Juventus
Tottenham v Leipzig
Napoli v Barcelona
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
