Ramon Diaz has left Al Hilal to return to his native Argentina for family reasons. AP Photo
Ramon Diaz has left Al Hilal to return to his native Argentina for family reasons. AP Photo
Ramon Diaz has left Al Hilal to return to his native Argentina for family reasons. AP Photo
Ramon Diaz has left Al Hilal to return to his native Argentina for family reasons. AP Photo

Ramon Diaz thanks Al Hilal 'for everything' as he leaves club for personal reasons


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

Ramon Diaz bid a heartfelt goodbye to Al Hilal after deciding to return to Argentina for family reasons, with his son Emiliano Diaz to take charge of the team for the remainder of the season.

Diaz, 63, posted the announcement on his social media on Sunday night, only days following Hilal’s King’s Cup final victory against Al Wehda.

The Argentine, in his second stint as Hilal manager, said he needed to go back to his homeland to be with his family. In March, Diaz’s other son Michael was involved in a car crash in Buenos Aires that killed his wife, Barbara Oliver, and the driver of the other vehicle, Aldo Flaque.

Michael Diaz and his young son Milo are said to have experienced relatively minor injuries.

At the time, Ramon Diaz travelled back to Argentina, but soon resumed his work with Hilal. Earlier this month, the reigning Asian champions lost the Champions League final to Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, but responded on Friday by securing a 10th King’s Cup.

Hilal prevailed 7-6 in the shoot-out against Wehda after the match in Jeddah finished 1-1.

In Sunday’s video, Diaz said: "First of all, I want to thank the fans, the administration, the players, for the opportunity they gave me to be in this great club. But I am living a difficult, complicated moment, a situation for which I have to return to Argentina, to accompany my family.

“I want to thank all of Saudi Arabia for how they have treated me, for everything they have given me. I thank them and I apologise again, I love you very much and surely Al Hilal will continue to win."

Hilal, the current Saudi champions, are almost certainly out of the title race as they enter the final five matches of their league campaign. They sit fourth in the table, 11 points off leaders Al Ittihad, who have played a game more.

Hilal host Ittihad in a huge match on Tuesday. The Jeddah club lead the standings by five points from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.

In a statement on Sunday, Hilal said: “The board of directors of Al Hilal Club has approved the request made by the Argentinian manager of the first football team, Ramon Diaz, to leave to his country to follow up the situation of his family after a car accident that resulted in one death and two injuries among his family members.

“It has been decided that the assistant coach, Emiliano Diaz, will take over coaching duties with the rest of the coaching staff who will continue leading the remaining matches of the sports season.”

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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press

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THREE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)

Date started: August 2021

Founder: Nour Sabri

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace

Size: Two employees

Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East) 

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Power: 190bhp

Torque: 300Nm

Price: Dh169,900

On sale: now 

PROFILE OF STARZPLAY

Date started: 2014

Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand

Number of employees: 125

Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright

MATCH INFO

Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)

Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD

Profile Box

Company/date started: 2015

Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif

Based: Manama, Bahrain

Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation

Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads

Stage: 1 ($100,000)

Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte

Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000

Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8

Transmission Eight-speed automatic

Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm

Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm

Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba

 

New Zealand squad

Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner

If you go...

Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.

Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.

Updated: May 15, 2023, 8:45 AM