Riding the crest of a wave, Al Ahli have set their sights on securing a place in the record books this season, according to their midfielder Hugo Viana.
The Arabian Gulf League champions added the Arabian Gulf Cup to their trophy cabinet on Saturday, defeating Al Jazira 2-1 in the final at Al Ain's Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
The success ensures Ahli retain hopes of clinching an unprecedented domestic treble, with the Dubai club still to meet Al Ain in the President’s Cup final on May 18.
However, before that they can achieve another milestone when Ahli travel to Qatar knowing a draw against Al Sadd would see the club for the first time progress to the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League.
“We are hungry to win everything this season,” Viana said. “We want to make history in the UAE, so that’s our target now. If we win the President’s Cup we’ll be the first team to win everything in one season, and also if we beat Al Sadd it’ll be the first time Al Ahli has gone through in the Champions League.
“We want to do this and will do everything to achieve that.”
Viana, who described lifting the Arabian Gulf Cup as a “perfect feeling”, has enjoyed a superb introductory season to UAE football following last summer’s transfer from Sporting Braga, in Portugal.
The playmaker has another year to run on his contract and insists he would like to see that out, although his focus now is on Tuesday’s crunch Group D clash in Doha.
“Now we have another final, so we have to recover well in these two days,” he said. “But winning makes it easier for us. We will be ready for the Champions League.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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Ferrari
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Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
