Cosmin Olaroiu has been confirmed as the new coach of the UAE.
The Romanian fills the vacancy created after Paulo Bento was sacked after the national team’s win over North Korea in Riyadh last month.
Olaroiu, coach of Sharjah in the domestic league, has been given a two-year contract.
His primary task will be to lead the UAE’s quest for a World Cup place, via two vital fixtures in the summer.
They face Uzbekistan at home on Thursday, June 5. It is a game they must win if they are to stand a chance of qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The top two sides in the six-team group will advance directly to the main event. Iran are already assured one of the two places.
Olariou has emerged as the standout candidate after guiding Sharjah to the AFC Champions League Two final.
The 55-year-old watched his side pull off a remarkable rescue mission on Tuesday, with two goals in added time seeing off Saudi Arabia's Al Taawoun to clinch a place in next month's championship match against Singapore's Lion City Sailors.
The never-say-die attitude is a trait of all Olaroiu’s teams – and the national team will need it for their upcoming qualifiers.
With two matches still to play, the UAE trail the second-placed Uzbeks by four points. If they beat them on home soil in the next fixture, they will move to within one point.
With a superior goal difference to the Uzbeks, it means they will need to better their performance on the final day to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.
The UAE’s final fixture is away to Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday, June 10, while Uzbekistan will host Qatar on the same day.
Despite being by far the most decorated coach in the 14 years since he first arrived in the country as coach of Al Ain, Olaroiu had curiously never been elevated to the role of national team coach – until now.
In 10 seasons in the UAE league, he has won 14 major trophies, including the UAE Pro League in each of his first three seasons in the country.
The first two of those came with Al Ain, then the third with Al Ahli after he made the switch to the Dubai-based club.
After Al Ain regained the title in 2014/15, Olaroiu became a champion again with Al Ahli the following season – his fourth league title in five seasons in the UAE.
Since 2011, when Olaroiu was first appointed Al Ain manager after trophy-laden stints in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the national team have had 11 managerial changes.
Bento, the most recent, had just under two years at the helm. Thrilling wins against Qatar, most notably, had brought Bento’s side to the position that they were still in with a chance of claiming the second place in the qualifying group, ahead of the Uzbeks.
However, the Portuguese coach paid for a downturn in form that led to his dismissal. He oversaw a poor Gulf Cup campaign, when the UAE failed to make it out of the group, then a turgid display in Iran on their return to the World Cup qualifying trail.
A 2-1 win over North Korea, which required a late stoppage time goal by Sultan Adil, assured that the UAE will, as a minimum, play in the next round of qualifying.
That is a set of fixtures in October, in a three-team group, against other sides who have finished third or fourth in their respective groups in Asian qualifying. The winner of that will make it to the World Cup.
Despite having those repechage fixtures assured, the performances led the UAE Football Association to fear an automatic qualifying place would be beyond Bento. He was summarily dismissed the morning after the North Korea game.
Now they hope Olaroiu will be able to galvanise the side at short notice. His Sharjah side are through to the final of the President's Cup, where they will face the Shabab Al Ahli side with whom they are also vying for the UAE Pro League crown.
Given his track record of rapidly turning sides into winners, as well as his deep understanding of the UAE game – he has coached many of the national team squad at club level – it is no wonder he was the FA’s first choice.
However, one thing Olaroiu is light on is international experience. Within a glittering club coaching career, both in his homeland and especially Asia – he has won trophies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and China – he has had one brief and ill-starred crack at international management.
During his stint as Al Ahli manager, he was given temporary leave to manage Saudi Arabia at the 2015 Asian Cup. They failed to make it out of their group.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
