Iran are entering their sixth World Cup with somewhat of a near home advantage with the tournament being held in the Middle East. Still, a last-minute manager change and a divided dressing room threaten to derail their chances of advancing out of the group stage for the first time.
Team Meli were one goal away from knocking out then reigning European champions Portugal from the 2018 World Cup and securing a place in the Round of 16 in Russia. But, if they are to cause an upset in Qatar, they will have to overcome the disorder in their own ranks.
A tumultuous summer behind the scenes has led to a dramatic change of leadership, with Carlos Queiroz returning as head coach under the appointment of Mehdi Taj, who was recently re-elected president of the Iranian Football Federation.
The former Real Madrid head coach is already the longest-serving manager in the country’s history, previously leading Iran to the 2014 and 2018 World Cups in his previous eight-year spell. Yet, his appointment comes off the back of a failed campaign with Egypt, where the Pharaohs failed to qualify for the World Cup and lost the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Portuguese manager takes over from Dragan Skocic, who suffered just two defeats in 18 games at the helm, and his departure may have a lasting impact on the squad, as his previous sacking and reinstatement in August caused major division between senior players.
Queiroz will be hoping that there is no bad blood between the strike partnership of Bayer Leverkusen’s Sardar Azmoun, nicknamed 'The Iranian Messi', and Mehdi Taremi of Porto, who scored the sensational bicycle kick against Chelsea in the Champions League that won goal of the tournament in 2021.
The duo will be central to any success for the Iranians, despite publicly coming to blows on social media following uncertainty surrounding the future of their Croatian manager back in August.
This build-up has similarities to that of the 1998 World Cup, which is also the last time Iran faced the USA in the group stages. They appointed three different managers before a politically charged meeting with the Americans, which they won 2-1 to secure their first-ever World Cup victory. The encore promises to be just as memorable, with the two sides coming together again in the last game of the group stages.
Manager: Carlos Queiroz
Star player: Mehdi Taremi
One to watch: Sardar Azmoon
World Cup finals appeared in: 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018
Fixtures: Nov 21 - England v Iran; Nov 25 - Wales v Iran; Nov 29 - Iran v USA
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
Persuasion
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
