Diego Forlan writes a weekly column for The National, appearing in print each Friday. The former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid striker has been the top scorer in Europe twice and won the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup. Forlan’s column is written with the assistance of European football correspondent Andy Mitten.
I hope you have enjoyed 2015 as much as I have. I still feel blessed to be playing professional football in a successful side at 35. I started the year in Japan, where I have had a great time in Osaka.
Then I announcement my retirement from international football before joining Penarol, the team of my family.
I am back home, but I still watch a lot of football and speak to a lot of people. Here are my most memorable moments from 2015.
Goal of the year
Robert Lewandowski scored five goals in nine minutes; a magnificent feat which I don’t think can be done again. Five goals in one game happens once every decade in a league; he scored them in nine minutes.
He is excellent for Bayern Munich and for Poland and was the top scorer in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, but the fifth of those goals – a volley - just left me laughing at his brilliance. It was against a strong team in Wolfsburg, the team who had finished second. He had not even started the game but came off the bench at half-time and then bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
He has scored 26 goals in 26 appearances for Bayern so far this season. That puts him among the very best.
Team of the year
Barcelona. How could it be anyone else? They won five trophies; they raised their game for the biggest matches.
They are at their best in March, April and May when those huge games come twice a week.
South American team of the year
River Plate. Under a talented young manager Marcelo Gallardo who was a former River player, they won the Copa Sud Americana and then Copa Libertadores.
They played Barca in the Club World Cup final, but the best South American teams cannot compete with the best European teams. They are miles apart financially.
Player of the Year
Lionel Messi. He is the best player in the best team in the world. He remains a game changer, the one who provide a magic moment like no other. He scored lots of incredible goals – my favourite was when he chipped Manuel Neuer in the Uefa Champions League semi-final. He should win the Ballon d’Or again.
Read more: Diego Forlan: I loved busy Christmas with Manchester United but it's nice to enjoy a break
South American Player of Year
Carlos Sanchez, the Uruguayan who plays at No 8 in midfield for Uruguay.
He scores goals, he is good with set pieces. He is 31 and didn’t make his national team debut until he was 29, but he is become an important player since.
He was vital for River Plate as they won the Libertadores last season. Now he has moved to Mexico to play his club football.
Best manager
Luis Enrique. Another obvious one. What I like about him is that he has got control of a dressing room with some of the biggest players in the world. A manager needs to be very strong at the biggest clubs, but in his first season he won the respect of those players and improved them.
Bayern’s Pep Guardiola is still an incredible manager, but when his team came up against his former teammate Enrique, he was outsmarted.
Best international team
I am not an expert on Wales, but I was really impressed when I saw them, especially against Belgium, who are now ranked first in the world.
Wales is like Uruguay, a country of three million. They are used to being David against Goliath. We mastered the art of being David long ago; I am glad that Wales have learned too.
Biggest disappointment
The Netherlands. So many great players, so much history of playing great football and doing well in competition. They should be fighting for trophies. Instead, they are not even going to Euro 2016.
Best fans
When I returned to Uruguay, I was introduced to Penarol fans during a friendly game. Wow. There were 30,000 there to welcome me back and I felt a lot of love and support. We won the opening stage of the league and we will play in the Libertadores in February, when we will move to a new stadium.
Young South America Player
Mauro Alambarri is a 20-year-old midfielder playing at Defensor Sporting in Montevideo. He scores, he knows how to move with the ball and gets around the pitch. He has been playing under 20 level for the national team. Watch out for him.
South American player to watch for in Europe
Matias Kranevitter, a 22-year-old midfielder who played for River Plate on loan from Atletico Madrid. He has just moved to Madrid and I expect big things from him in Spain.
Most intriguing game
I was fascinated when Juventus played Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League semi-final. Madrid had all these great players, but Juventus, with an experienced defence, were masters at defending and frustrating them. Yet they had to change their tactics mid-match after going behind or they were out on the away goal. Madrid were set to play Barcelona for the first time in European Cup final. Juve got their goal … and it came from one of their former players Alvaro Morata.
Madrid then launched a full on assault. They desperately needed a player behind their attackers to unlock the Juventus defence. They had that player a year earlier when they won the Champions League in Angel di Maria. But he was no longer at the club, having been sold to Manchester United.
Madrid went out, Barca won the cup and Madrid fired their manager, Carlo Ancelotti, a former Juventus coach.
A happy 2016 to you all.
Read more: Find all of The National Sport's long reads in one place
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Read more: John McAuley with an in-depth interview with Hugo Viana
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
Sweet%20Tooth
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Results
%3Cp%3EStage%204%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Juan%20Sebastian%20Molano%20(COL)%20Team%20UAE%20Emirates%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2050min%2001sec%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Olav%20Kooij%20(NED)%20Jumbo-Visma%20%E2%80%93%20ST%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sam%20Welsford%20(AUS)%20Team%20DSM)%20%E2%80%93%20ST%0D%3Cbr%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%207%E2%80%B3%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pello%20Bilbao%20(ESP)%20Bahrain%20Victorious%20%E2%80%93%2011%E2%80%B3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Leaderboard
15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)
-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
-13 Brandon Stone (SA)
-10 Laurie Canter (ENG) , Sergio Garcia (ESP)
-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)
-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)
