German defenders Jonas Hector, left, and Mats Hummels were on the receiving end of a 3-0 thrashing by the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena. AFP
German defenders Jonas Hector, left, and Mats Hummels were on the receiving end of a 3-0 thrashing by the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena. AFP

Agony of Amsterdam shows a Germany in crises, not just a blip



When Uefa’s new competition, the Nations League, was launched last month, there was initial confusion about some of its complex mechanisms, and a hesitancy about how to properly describe its penalty for failure. Managers talked about "demotion", of "dropping down a level", apparently unwilling to say the word "relegation" about something that could affect them abruptly, even in the space of three matches.

Right now, Germany's national team is undergoing a crash course in the language of failure, a vocabulary they have not had to learn for a generation. There is no softening the impact of Saturday night's 3-0 defeat against a Netherlands who spent much of the past four years perfecting the role of Europe's most hapless fallen giant. They emphatically handed over that script to Joachim Low's bedraggled Germans in Amsterdam.

Low, now in his 11th year in a job he might easily have lost after a dreadful World Cup, may say sincerely that the Nations League was never his priority. But rebuilding a damaged edifice certainly is, and being thumped by the Dutch, with whom Germany have a peppery rivalry even in friendlies, leaves a nasty bruise. It has ushered the 2014 World Cup winners closer to the R-word: Relegation from League A in the hierarchy of Uefa’s lively new tournament will look a probability if Germany lose to France in Paris on Tuesday.

They are bottom of their table with a single point. Less than four months ago, they finished bottom of their group at the World Cup. Germany have scored no goals in their last three competitive matches, and just two in their last five. The worst calendar year of Low's decade at the top now reads: Played 12, Lost 5, Won 3. His Germany have kept a clean sheet just once in their last 11 games.

Seven of Germany’s 2014 World Cup gold medallists took part in the agony of Amsterdam; a Dutch team, more and more vibrant as the the contest developed, fielded just three of the men who failed, via penalty shoot-out, to reach the final of that tournament. The Dutch still look back on some very lean times - Holland qualified for neither the 2016 Euros nor the 2018 World Cup - but must feel rejuvenated, that a corner has been turned.

______________

Read more:

Virgil van Dijk hopes win over Germany steers Netherlands back on course

Uefa Nations League: Joachim Low rewarded for putting faith in Germany's old guard

Explainer: the Uefa Nations League, how it works and fixtures in UAE time

______________

They were also the beneficiaries, over a rousing 90 minutes, of a catalogue of errors from players who have been standard-bearers under Low. Captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer lost his bearings terribly tracking the corner that led to the first goal, headed in by Virgil Van Dijk. The opportunity had been set up when Ryan Babel outjumped Mats Hummels, a defender with almost 70 caps to his name. By that time, half an hour in, Thomas Muller - on course for his 100th cap when Germany host Holland in what may well be the relegation decider next month - had squandered a chance, allowing Jasper Cillessen to save a drive the usually predatory Muller had time to place more expertly. Julian Draxler - another 2014 champion - wasted an opportunity to equalise.

It was a hard night, too, for Jerome Boateng, playing his 76th international. Memphis Depay, electric on the counter-attack, zipped past him for the second goal, and Georginio Wijnaldum did the same before unleashing the authoritative drive past Neuer for the third, in injury time.

Neuer, Hummels, Boateng and Muller have all had a tough, disorientating few weeks with their club, an unusually vulnerable Bayern Munich, and Low acknowledged confidence is draining from players he knows intimately.

“You can see the self-belief has lowered in the past few months,” he said. “We have lost direction. In the last 10 minutes, you should be responding to 1-0 down without going wild. We have been authors of our own defeat too often.”

Belief in Low is diminishing, too. The choice of the German Football Federation to honour his long contract after the disastrous World Cup leaned on the vast credit he had accumulated between 2008 and 2017. It was a choice to regard Russia as a blip, a recoverable malfunction. As the Dutch would happily advise the Germans, these crises have a tendency to get worse before they get better.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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.
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

'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'

Director:Michael Lehmann

Stars:Kristen Bell

Rating: 1/5

Rashid & Rajab

Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib

Stars: Shadi Alfons,  Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab 

Two stars out of five 

The biog

First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974  
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work

Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4

Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800

 

Company: Instabug

Founded: 2013

Based: Egypt, Cairo

Sector: IT

Employees: 100

Stage: Series A

Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now