It’s hard not to feel for Lecce, the club from the heel of Italy, as they prepare for another season in Serie A, the division they have been relegated from twice in the past decade.
They were champions of Serie B in May, but have spent the least of any promoted club in fortifying the squad. And the fixture list has been merciless.
On Saturday, Internazionale will make the long trip south for match day one. Up against Lecce, fitness permitting, will be Romelu Lukaku, the centre-forward for whom more has been paid in total career transfer fees than any footballer in history.
Three seasons ago, following his €80 million move from Manchester United, he made his Serie A debut against Lecce. He scored the third goal in a 4-0 win. Over the next two seasons, Lukaku added a further 63 Inter goals in 94 appearances.
Those are the numbers Inter are looking for from Lukaku’s return, on loan from Chelsea, after his dispiriting, marginalised nine months in London. While he was away, Inter failed to defend their league title, conceding it to neighbours AC Milan after a compelling joust for the scudetto was settled on the last day.
Lukaku, who had joined Chelsea for over €100m, can barely conceal his delight at being back in Italy. “It’s like coming home,” he said at the prospect of reuniting with colleagues who formed the backbone of the 2020/21 Italian champions and reviving a celebrated striking partnership with Lautaro Martinez, the so-called ‘LuLa’ alliance.
Lukaku surveys a division in which several of his former combatants have moved on. There will be no muscular duels with Giorgio Chiellini, the veteran whose departure from Juventus for an end-of-career postscript in Los Angeles marks the end of an epoch.
Juve have sold Matthijs de Ligt, the Dutch defender, to Bayern Munich and although Gleison Bremer, the Brazilian signed from Torino, is an accomplished centre-back, he cannot expect much patience from Juve supporters anxious for standards to be raised quickly. Juventus, Serie A winners in every season between 2012 and 2020, are coming off successive fourth-placed finishes.
Like Inter with Lukaku, Juve have sought out a leader from the past to help them again walk the walk of champions. Paul Pogba, who left Italy for Manchester United for a similar fee to that paid by Chelsea for Lukaku, has come back for free, though his vast salary will feel that bit heavier during the seven or eight matches he is to miss before his second debut for the club.
Lukaku's career in pictures
Pogba picked up a knee injury in practice and by the time he is fit for action, he will note that Juventus have been busy around him. Besides Chiellini and De Ligt, Paulo Dybala has departed. Into Juve’s creative hub come Angel di Maria, and, subject to final details being agreed, Filip Kostic. Memphis Depay, who Barcelona are pushing to sell, may join them.
Dybala’s choice of Roma as his destination boosts optimism in the capital that a sustained Serie A challenge is possible. In Jose Mourinho’s first year as their head coach, Roma broke a long trophy drought by winning the inaugural Europa Conference League.
They fell short of the target set to Mourinho by finishing only sixth in Italy’s top division. Dybala, Nemanja Matic and Gini Wijnaldum, the summer additions, now add pedigree to the squad, while Tammy Abraham will be keen to remind Lukaku that there is more than one former Chelsea striker who finds Italian football very much to his liking.
Most centre-forwards outside Napoli will welcome the fact that Kalidou Koulibaly is no longer going to be marking them at the San Paulo. In Naples there is concern that Koulibaly’s sale to Chelsea was part of a procession. Fellow legends of the club, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens have also said farewell.
“It will be a strange season,” admits Luciano Spalletti, the Napoli head coach, “and I sense some scepticism about us.”
Napoli have finished in the top three seven times in the past 10 seasons. The sceptics wonder if they can be relied on to maintain that standard.
AC Milan, who kick off the season at home to Udinese on Saturday, have been shorn of key contributors to their title.
Franck Kessie leaves a hole in midfield, and although Zlatan Ibrahimovic has extended his Peter Pan career by signing a new contract, the 40-year-old Swede is recuperating from an injury that will keep him out until the new year.
But the capture of the young forward, Charles de Ketelaere, from Bruges, excites milanisti. De Ketelaere will be keen to remind compatriot Lukaku there is now more than one Belgian star in the city of Milan.
The biggest summer transfers
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company%20Profile
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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