Al Ain lost the first leg of the Asian Champions League final in Japan on Saturday, defeated 2-1 by Yokohama F Marinos.
The 2003 champions, the only UAE club to be crowned Asian champions, had taken the lead at Yokohama International Stadium on 12 minutes, when Soufiane Rahimi robbed possession from Carlos Eduardo and raced through on goal.
The Moroccan’s effort was blocked brilliantly by Marinos goalkeeper William Popp, but Mohammed Abbas was on hand to squeeze the rebound into the goal.
The visitors thought they had doubled their lead right on the hour. Matias Palacios broke beyond the Marinos defence and his somehow squirmed through Popp’s legs, only for VAR to show the Al Ain midfielder had strayed just offside.
Either side of the incident, goalkeeper Khalid Essa made super stops to keep his side in front. First, the Al Ain captain tipped around the post Asahi Uenaka’s curled shot from the edge of the area; minutes later, Essa thwarted Takuya Kida with another acrobatic save, the ball then spinning into the air and bouncing on top of the crossbar.
Yet the Marinos eventually pulled level. On 72 minutes, Yan Matheus cut in from the left and sent a perfect cross into the Al Ain area, leaving Uenaka to head home from close range.
With five minutes remaining, the hosts snatched the win. Substitute Kouta Watanabe deflected home Ryo Miyaichi’s shot at the back post but was quickly flagged for offside. However, following a lengthy VAR review, the goal was allowed.
Contesting their first Champions League final, the Marinos will take a slender lead to Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on May 25.
Al Ain train for ACL final first leg - in pictures
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Soufiane Rahimi smiles as Al Ain train ahead of the Asian Champions League final, first leg. All pictures by Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Manager Hernan Crespo looks on as his players train at the Nissan Stadium, Yokohama. -
Ahmed Barman, centre, gets involved in a rondo during training. -
Al Ain players look in relaxed mood during training on the eve of the Asian Champions League final. -
Al Ain players smile and joke during a light session at the Nissan Stadium, Yokohama. -
Ahmed Barman shares a joke with teammates. -
Park Yong-woo calls for the ball. -
Mohammed Abbas in action during training in Yokohama. -
Kaku gets involved in a shooting drill. -
Al Ain players in a huddle at training on the eve of the Asian Champions League final, first leg.
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The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
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“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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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.
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“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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