Diego Forlan writes a weekly column for The National, appearing 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 remember the last time people said Barcelona were finished.
It was January 2015 and they lost a game to Real Sociedad. For one week, the headlines around the club were angry and their sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta lost his job. Four months later, Barca won the Primera Liga and the Champions League.
Barca were not finished then and they’re not finished now.
Yes, the result in Paris this week was terrible. But before I look at what went wrong, how about I look at what went right for an exceptional Paris Saint-Germain team, one that gets more experienced in Europe each season?
Just like Chelsea, who got better and better until they knocked Barcelona out and won the competition in 2012, teams such as PSG are learning and improving.
Barca did not lose 4-0 to someone like Granada, but to a team that have been one of the best in Europe in recent seasons, a team backed with a huge budget from wealthy owners.
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Read more
■ Talking points: Arsenal slump, Barca set back and PSG rise
■ In pictures: Barcelona's huge defeat to Paris Saint-Germain
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They also have the players to damage the Catalans. My old Uruguay teammate Edinson Cavani is in magnificent form.
He is 30, experienced and confident. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure last season means Cavani is now the main striker at PSG — which is what he wants to be.
He gets the space, he plays centrally with fast wide players supporting him. He is fast, strong and scoring. He is one of the best strikers in the world. He is a selfish striker, and I say that in a positive way. He wants to shoot, to score, he wants to be the killer. He gets mad if he does nt score. He was one of several players who had a great game against Barca.
Angel di Maria, Julian Draxler and Marco Verratti were three more as PSG got into the faces of Barca. They attacked, pressured and played aggressively in the style of a Diego Simeone team.
PSG’s coach Unai Emery knew they had to because they knew it would be a storm in Camp Nou in the second leg, somewhere where they have too much experience of losing. And where he had experience of losing with Valencia and Sevilla. He also knew that referees let a little more go in European competitions than they do in Spanish league matches and PSG benefited from that, too.
There should be no excuses. Barca were poor. None of them played well. They did not look like Barca. They were flat, though a little unlucky. That happens in football. No player or team play well every week, but please do not tell me that a team with all their amazing players are finished.
Barca were not finished when Bayern Munich beat them 7-0 on aggregate to reach the final in 2013, though that too was a terrible result.
They happen, football is cyclical yet while Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and both Milan clubs have had far bigger slumps in the past five years, Barca have been more consistent than any other team in league and European competition.
They have won four European Cups since 2006, more than anyone else in that time. Luis Suarez is 30, not 36. Lionel Messi is 29, not 36, Neymar is 25, not 36. They will be very good for several more years yet.
They are so good that it is a big surprise when they are not. I would still fancy Barcelona to finish above PSG in a 38-game league season, but cup ties throw up more surprises.
There might be changes. The manager Luis Enrique may go — despite winning a treble and a double in his first two seasons. It is easier to change a manager than a team. The media start it, the fans get used to the idea and then a great manager loses his job. Or he moves on or takes a break like Pep Guardiola did, because the pressure at a giant like Barca is non-stop.
Every day they are getting pushed into a corner with questions. Sometimes, like on Wednesday in Paris, they get visibly annoyed.
My friend Suarez did not have a good game in Paris. Is he finished? No chance. He is calm. He will be ignoring the noise around him, the 24-hour screaming headlines that want to grab attention by making the most scandalous claims.
They appear everywhere like flowers in a desert when it rains, and then they disappear just as quickly with another result. Some Barcelona fans need to realise too that no team can win every trophy.
They have been spoiled by success and that makes them think it is normal. It is not, as the many older Barca fans who watched them win nothing for years will know.
But they should know that they still have a very, very good team with the best attacking three in the world and new players who need a little more time to settle.
Yet Luis will be aware of the criticism and use it as a motivating factor to prove people wrong because if any team in the world can come back from 4-0, it is Barcelona.
I do not think Atletico Madrid could do it, that is not their style and it will be very, very hard for Barca to do it against such a good PSG side.
I have seen Luis come back from setbacks before. In that team, playing at home, he will have chances. But then Barça need to attack even more than they usually do and that will leave them taking risks at the back, risks which can be exploited. There’s a great game in prospect.
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Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RACE CARD
4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m
5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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.
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
More about Middle East geopolitics
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
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.
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5