Pavel Nedved waves goodbye to the Juventus faithful after his last match for the club before retiring.
Pavel Nedved waves goodbye to the Juventus faithful after his last match for the club before retiring.

Farewell to old friends



Serie A's season went out with a bang on Sunday. A total of 41 goals were scored on the final afternoon, more than four per match; so much for the Italian reputation for crabby, defensive caution. The spirit of adventure even affected those games where much was at stake. AC Milan won 2-0 against Fiorentina in Florence, when what they had needed to cling on to third spot, and guaranteed Champions League football next season, was merely not to lose by as a heavy a margin.

Bologna, threatened with relegation, beat Catania 3-1 tomstay in the top-flight. Torino went to Roma and the Stadio Olimpico witnessed five goals. Alas, for Torino, Roma scored three of them and the Turin side, needing to better Bologna's result, are now down in Serie B. Marco Di Vaio scored Bologna's third, but his 24th of the season was not quite enough to make him the league's overall top goalscorer.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic took that award with his 24th and 25th goals in the rollercoaster that was Inter Milan 4, Atalanta 3. Udinese and Cagliari went one goal better, in a 6-2 win for the home side in Udine. As Milan, Fiorentina - who will now go into the final qualifying round for the group stage of the Champions League - Bologna and Torino established their crucial final placings, so at last did Carlo Ancelotti, who will not be coaching Milan next season. Confirmation that he is off to Chelsea arrived yesterday morning, but he declared his eight years working at Milanello were over. Leonardo, the Brazilian former Milan player, will take over as head coach there.

"Today is the end of a wonderful experience," Ancelotti announced. The parting of ways had not been acrimonious, he added. "I have talked to president Silvio Berlusconi and vice-president Adriano Galliani and we reached this point together, harmoniously." Milan, along with second-placed Juventus, finished the campaign 10 points behind the champions, Inter. Uncertainty surrounds the managerial positions at a further two clubs in the final top six. Juventus have a decision to make on whe-ther Ciro Ferarra, the caretaker, stays on, while Luciano Spalletti, said he will meet the Roma club president Rosella Sensi in the next few days about his future.

As for emblematic players, it was farewell to Paolo Maldini, to Pavel Nedved, who played his last game for Juventus in their 2-0 win over his old club Lazio, and Luis Figo, who turned out for the last time for Inter. David Beckham meanwhile left open his chances of returning to Milan some time in 2009-2010 after completing his remaining obligations to LA Galaxy over the next five months by saying: "I hope to return soon."

Kaka, who with Alex Pato scored the last goals of Milan's Ancelotti era, was more enigmatic. Real Madrid are keen to lure him to Spain. He chose simply to bid farewell to his coach: "He gave me the chance to enter the world stage, and taught me a lot," said the Brazilian. "I'm grateful for that." ihawkey@thenational.ae

The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S

Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900

Engine: 937cc

Transmission: Six-speed gearbox

Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm

Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID

1st row 
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

2nd row 
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)

3rd row 
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)

4th row 
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)

5th row 
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)

6th row 
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)

7th row 
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)

8th row 
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)

9th row 
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)

10th row 
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)

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

How to become a Boglehead

Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.

•   Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.

•   Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.

•   Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.

•   Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.

•   Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.

•   Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.

•   Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.

•   Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.


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