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European Super Cup: Revenge on Chelsea and Bayern Munich minds

Chelsea sign Samuel Eto'o from Anzhi Makhachkala ahead of grudge match.

Agence France Presse

August 29, 2013

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PRAGUE // Uefa Champions League winners Bayern Munich and Europa League holders Chelsea meet in the European Super Cup tonight with the usually relaxed atmosphere surrounding the match spiced up, as there are several scores to be settled.

Bayern still feel they should have won the Champions League a year earlier only to be beaten by Chelsea on penalties - even worse for the Germans was that it came at their stadium, the Allianz Arena.

Chelsea's manager at the time, Roberto di Matteo, is no longer there. He was sacked a few months later and his replacement, Rafa Benitez, salvaged something from the season in landing the Europa League. The present incumbent, Jose Mourinho - Benitez's spell as caretaker manager ended at the end of last season - will be eager to beat Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, his nemesis from his days in Spain. Barcelona under Guardiola outshone Mourinho's Real Madrid, and the latter's unhappy reign there came to an end at the end of last season.

That left the self-anointed "Special One" needing to prove he has not lost his touch at delivering trophies, and where better to start than by beating his old rival in the process?

Guardiola took a year off, stepping aside after Madrid ended Barcelona's reign as champions in 2012, and returned to take over a Bayern side that last season under Jupp Heynckes became the first German club to win the domestic double and the Champions League.

Guardiola, though, can deliver something that Bayern coaches have not managed - win the Super Cup after the club failed to do so on three previous occasions.

"It's a unique chance for us players to win this trophy," said Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. "It's a final, and a match against the Europa League winners, and that's Chelsea.

"We still have something to clear with them, and take revenge, so hopefully we can win in Prague."

Mourinho has never lifted the Super Cup, but if he succeeds, it will give Chelsea their second title in the competition.

Mourinho, who last night added Samuel Eto'o to his squad on a free transfer from Anzhi Makhachkala, has pointed to the pressure Guardiola is under to at least match last season's historic achievements.

"The team of Jupp Heynckes was the strongest team in Europe last season, for sure. And this season, they are the same team, with three new players, all of them good, with a new manager, also good," he said.

"Normally, they have to be better this season than they were in the previous season."

* Agence France-Presse

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The flights

The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings

The stay

Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.

 

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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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Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka

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The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

Bayern MunichJose Mourinho