The challenge for Unai Emery, centre, is to keep Edinson Cavani, left, and Neymar, right, in check. Franck Fife / AFP
The challenge for Unai Emery, centre, is to keep Edinson Cavani, left, and Neymar, right, in check. Franck Fife / AFP
The challenge for Unai Emery, centre, is to keep Edinson Cavani, left, and Neymar, right, in check. Franck Fife / AFP
The challenge for Unai Emery, centre, is to keep Edinson Cavani, left, and Neymar, right, in check. Franck Fife / AFP

All eyes on Neymar and Cavani as PSG host Bayern Munich in Champions League clash


Ian Hawkey
  • English
  • Arabic

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

PSG v BaAccording to Unai Emery, the Paris Saint-Germain manager, there are five keys to team spirit.

He lists them in his book on management, Mentalidad Ganador, or Winning Mentality, and calls them his 'Five Cs'. They are, roughly translated from Emery's native Spanish: Commitment, Communication, Confidence in One Another, Counting Up - to specific targets - and Coming Together.

Mostly, Emery’s systems have served him well. He is best known, perhaps, for his shrewd analysis and tactical acumen, but is also a respected leader of men.

He handled a waspish squad and boardroom while in charge of Valencia. He dealt with a high turnover of personnel while at Sevilla, where his line ups may have altered as players were sold and bought, but successive Europa League titles were seized. PSG saw his record of serial achievement in Europe as the best reason for hiring him in the summer of 2016.

Emery’s Five Cs formula is undergoing a stern test at the moment.

There is a problem with one big C, namely Cavani and his relationship with PSG's €222 million (Dh960m) man, the most expensive footballer in history, Neymar. The story will not go away.

Edinson Cavani, Ligue 1’s top marksman last season, and Neymar, whose advisors let it be known that part of his motivation for leaving Barcelona two months ago was to allow his talent to flower out of the shadow of Lionel Messi, very publicly disputed the right to take a penalty 10 days ago against Lyon. They have not played alongside one another since.

PSG denied a report that the club had tried to resolve any recurrence of the issue by offering Cavani a one-off payment of €1m to step down from his role as delegated penalty taker. That is not so much team-spirit management by the theory of the five Cs as team spirit suppressed by the theory of the limitless funds.

What is beyond doubt is that, as the Paris club test their ambitions against Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday night, every interaction, every glance and every word shared between Cavani and Neymar – who has, Emery says, recovered from the foot injury which kept him out of Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Montpellier – will be scrutinised via magnifying glass.

A few in Bayern's hierarchy have watched PSG's high-profile internal squabbling with a hint of schadenfreude. Uli Hoeness, the Bayern president, took the opportunity ahead of the fixture to reprise a favourite theme: criticising heavy outside investment in football clubs. PSG's vast spending – apart from the Neymar buyout fee, the club have committed €180m to the purchase of Kylian Mbappe – is funded by their Qatari owners.

"The time will come," Hoeness told Kicker magazine, "that these patrons will say, 'That's enough! We've put in so much money and we haven't achieved what we wanted.' Sporting success cannot be just created in the way they predict".

Hoeness may have been stirring, and he was certainly bypassing all the resemblances between PSG’s business strategy and Bayern’s own.

______________

Read more

Talking points: Chelsea bump into exes and FC Hollywood grips Paris

Unai Emery: Tensions between Neymar and Cavani are 'normal'

______________

Bayern may have held the lease on their penthouse in the top storey of elite football longer than nouveau riche PSG, but they maintain it in much the same way. PSG, pushed back last May into second position in a Ligue 1 they had got used to winning at a canter, promptly went out and hired the teen sensation Mbappe from Monaco, the champions.

Since Bayern were last beaten out of top spot in the Bundesliga by Borussia Dortmund, in 2012, they have made the principle of weakening their nearest rival a trademark. They lured Mario Gotze, then Robert Lewandowski and then Mats Hummels from Dortmund.

And Bayern’s solution to a glass ceiling that has built up for them at the semi-final stage of a European Cup they have won five times in their history? To bring in as manager Carlo Ancelotti, seasoned master of Champions League triumphs. That is the same Ancelotti whom PSG employed when they came into their sudden wealth, to steer them towards the first of their four successive French league titles between 2013 and 2016.

Ancelotti reflected last week he had during his 18 months in Paris “helped organise PSG and change its mentality. PSG grew from there". He left for Real Madrid in the summer Cavani arrived, thus avoiding a territorial jostle about the centre-forward position that was to simmer between Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

______________

Read more

Robben taunts PSG - 'Money doesn't score goals'

______________

At PSG, Ancelotti is warmly remembered for a man-management style that cultivated harmony. At Bayern, they appreciate those qualities.

But they also ask, with growing urgency, that their serene Italian manager bring them that overdue European Cup, and expect him to work out how to keep upstarts like PSG in their place.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Griselda
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Andr%C3%A9s%20Baiz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ESof%C3%ADa%20Vergara%2C%20Alberto%20Guerra%2C%20Juliana%20Aiden%20Martinez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

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 

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)

TV: BeIN Sports

Company Profile

Company name: Yeepeey

Started: Soft launch in November, 2020

Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani

Based: Dubai

Industry: E-grocery

Initial investment: $150,000

Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year

Match info

Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335

Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

Facebook | Our website | Instagram

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')

Manchester City 0

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)

Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona