Amid all the praise of the two most successful managers at Euro 2020, some glimpses of ruthlessness. Roberto Mancini, admired for developing the collective endeavour of his resurgent Italy, still has a clear squad hierarchy in his mind. It will govern his choices for Sunday’s final.
England’s Gareth Southgate, for all his willingness to pick specific starting XIs for particular tasks, operates likewise.
Jack Grealish, 25, learnt that abruptly in Wednesday’s taut semi-final victory over Denmark. Introduced from the bench in the 69th minute with England taking control but still seeking the goal that would give them the lead, Grealish found himself back in his seat once England went 2-1 ahead, well before the final whistle of extra time. Grealish the substitute had been subbed. When that happens in cases other than injury, it easily bruises self-esteem.
“Jack understood,” said Southgate after his plan to shore up England’s right-flank by bringing on full-back Kieran Trippier for the attacking spark. Grealish had been on the pitch 37 minutes.
Manuel Locatelli, 23, learnt the limits of Roberto Mancini’s admiration of his midfield dynamism a couple of weeks ago. Locatelli shone in Italy’s 3-0 wins over Turkey and Switzerland in the group phase. He scored the first brace of his entire professional career in the defeat of the Swiss. But he has not started for Italy since, with Marco Verratti’s return to fitness superseding any claims Locatelli had made to being essential to Mancini’s best XI.
England fans celebrate win over Denmark
Just as Grealish may fear his last active part in Euro 2020 was being the sub who was replaced, so Locatelli may worry that his last kick of the tournament was the penalty he had saved in the shoot-out after he came on from the bench in the semi-final against Spain.
Both players’ experiences speak for the strength in depth of Sunday’s finalists. They also know that with five substitutes available — six if there is extra-time — they are in the thoughts of their managers even if they are not among the 22 starters at kick-off at Wembley.
Southgate and Mancini face some tricky choices. The direct match-ups across positions suggest a final of equals. Stamina will come under consideration. Mancini knows it has been a while since Giorgio Chiellini, the 36-year-old Italy captain, played a full 90 minutes three times in nine days for his club Juventus. He has already played 210 minutes in Italy’s last two knockout games.
The veteran heart of Italy’s defence — Chiellini and 34-year-old Leo Bonucci — will be up against Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. The physical combat with Kane will play to their fortes. But the movement of Sterling and Kane will test them. Italy were troubled by the unpredictable positions Dani Olmo, a ‘false nine’, took up for Spain in the semi-final. Kane is a master of the ambiguous gap between the centre-forward’s traditional role and that of the deeper number 10; Sterling has had a brilliant Euro 2020 because of his sharp antenna for where to dart and his skill in duels.
On the flanks, England’s full-backs have excelled. Kyle Walker against Lorenzo Insigne is a contest to relish, Walker’s pace in recovery a huge asset, Insigne’s accomplished, goal-scoring ability to manoeuvre himself on to his right foot from wide on the left a trademark.
On that flank, Italy have already missed Leonardo Spinazzola since the dashing left-back was injured in the quarter-final. Southgate will think hard about which of Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho or Phil Foden he uses to directly attack Emerson, the back-up to Spinazzola.
Italy’s midfield trio, the players ahead of Locatelli in the hierarchy, have sought control in most games, but they had it claimed from them for long periods against Spain. They will look at the England midfield and know that experience is with Italy in that area. Jorginho is 29, Marco Verratti 28, and Nicolo Barella the youngster of the three, at 24.
Against Denmark, England lined up Kalvin Phillips, 25 and with 14 caps, and the two 22-year-olds Declan Rice and Mason Mount. Chelsea’s Jorginho and Paris Saint-Germain’s Verratti have played in Champions League finals in the last 12 months; West Ham’s Rice and Leeds’s Phillips have never played in the Champions League at all.
Nor has England goalkeeper, Everton’s Jordan Pickford, who conceded his first goal of the tournament, Mikkel Damsgaard’s superb free-kick in the semi-final. Gigi Donnarumma, Italy’s keeper, has been beaten once in each of the knockout ties so far, but can certainly trump Pickford in one area. Donnarumma is just short of two metres tall — to Pickford’s 1.85m. It’s a difference that will look significant if Sunday goes all the way to a penalty shoot-out.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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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