England have bettered the best. Odd to think then that this friendly international may do more for Spain than it will for Fabio Capello's men. The tactics were regulation - deep, 11-man defending against a superior passing side; waiting upon rare forays forward to steal an advantage.
A deciding goal utterly against the course of play came from a free kick. James Milner won the set piece then delivered it across the area. Darren Bent headed it off the inside of a Spanish upright and Frank Lampard touched the rebounding ball over just before it spun in of its own accord.
The vaunted visitors, who had stacked World Cup upon continental title, were then frustrated by woodwork, goalkeeper and inaccurate finishing, allowing Wembley Stadium to delight in an unexpected 1-0 victory. The danger, though, is in believing England's problems are resolved.
England made it to the Euros nervously, but perspective has never been something the nation's football has overflown with. As many call for the appointment of a manager who faces a potential jail sentence, it is forgotten that the last time an Englishman coached their national team, Steve McClaren's men did not even reach the finals.
There is persistent squabbling over Capello's linguistic failings, his some-would-say-understandable desire to be elsewhere, the footballers he selects, and the formations he sends them out in. Yet, it is the fundamentals of the team that suggest Poland-Ukraine is not going to be happy place for them.
Put simply, England are preparing to enter the tournament minus their most important player and with their captain on the rack for both legal and sporting reasons.
As it stands, Wayne Rooney is suspended for all three group games. England have appealed a ban the forward received for senselessly kicking a Montenegrin.
Then there is John Terry, a central defender with starkly diminished speed and agility, but whom has been restored to England's captaincy.
Now Terry is under police investigation for alleged racial abuse. Terry denies any racist intent, Capello says the defender is innocent until proven otherwise and will remain his captain, but the team will only be damaged by this.
As the English reinvent self-destruction, Spain have been restructuring the game. Asked about the world and European champions last week, Capello talked of "the new football".
"To win back the ball quickly, attack the ball and the opponents' midfielders; this is the new football," Capello explained before stating that, for England, it would be "a big mistake to copy this style".
Yet so seductive are Spanish methods that Andre Villas-Boas sold himself to Roman Abramovich by promising to implement them at Chelsea before going shopping in Barcelona's B team.
Tottenham Hotspur can imagine a defence led by another Barca youth, Marc Bartra.
No question then that Spain stand on the summit; only over how long they can remain there. Barca's early season travails do not, they argue, indicate reduced appetite on the core of a national team that has now won everything, but the effects of a poorly executed pre-season.
Defeat at Wembley may be a timely warning. So dominant is Spain's carousel passing that there is a danger of complacency. The need for a clinical striker does not look like being met by awaiting Fernando Torres' return to form.
Better to lose now than next summer. One thing remains clear. Spain's way of playing has every chance of winning the European Championship. England's has precious little.
sports@thenational.ae
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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