Al Wahda manager Vuk Rasovic at the pre-match conference at the Al Nahyan stadium. Courtesy Al Wahda
Al Wahda manager Vuk Rasovic at the pre-match conference at the Al Nahyan stadium. Courtesy Al Wahda
Al Wahda manager Vuk Rasovic at the pre-match conference at the Al Nahyan stadium. Courtesy Al Wahda
Al Wahda manager Vuk Rasovic at the pre-match conference at the Al Nahyan stadium. Courtesy Al Wahda

Arabian Gulf League: Vuk Rasovic hoping for a bright opening with Al Wahda


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

Friday’s fixture

6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta

6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman

9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas

9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah

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Vuk Rasovic's Al Wahda team go into their Arabian Gulf League opener after learning a bitter lesson in last week's injury-time defeat by Al Wasl in the cup.

Wahda meet Hatta at the Al Nahyan Stadium after last season's competition was cancelled by the pandemic, and Rasovic was clear about the aim.

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time, and the players and technical staff are looking forward for our first league game,” said the manager.

“We have been preparing to show our best football in this game and obviously to win the three points is very much our target.

“We lost the first leg of the cup game to an injury-time goal but I believe we learn more from a defeat than as much when you learn from a win. We are also going full strength for this.”

Wahda will be strengthened with the return of their Congolese striker Paul Mboko, who underwent knee surgery in Belgium in the summer.

Also returning to the squad from national duty are Mohammed Bargash, Faris Juma, Khamis Ismail and Tahnoun Al Zaabi.

Khalil Al Hammadi, the Wahda midfielder who suffered a thigh muscle spasm in UAE's 2-1 defeat to Uzbekistan in last week's friendly in Dubai, has been ruled out for two weeks.

“Mboko had a full work out on Tuesday and with the return of the national team players, I guess we are a stronger side,” Rasovic said.

“I know Hatta will come very hard at us. They can trouble any team if they are given space. I have seen that when I was at Dhafra. Of course, we’ll have our game plan and expect the players to carry that out on the pitch.

“We definitely need to improve from our cup game. We didn’t have the full squad for the Wasl game; still we’ll try not to repeat the mistakes we did against them."

Rasovic, who had a two-year spell at Dhafra before moving to the Al Nahyan stadium, was coy about title talk and will focus on the team’s progress.

“I really want to make some good results,” the Serb added. “It isn’t easy as I have been only a month with the team. But I have a pretty good squad and we’ll work towards in achieving our goals as the season progresses.”

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV

Power: 360bhp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh282,870

On sale: now

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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

'Downton Abbey: A New Era'

Director: Simon Curtis

 

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan

 

Rating: 4/5

 
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The biog

Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:

  • Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
  • He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
  • There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
  • After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
  • In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994 
The 12 breakaway clubs

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Business Insights
  • As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses. 
  • SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income. 
  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
ENGLAND SQUAD

Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Friday’s fixture

6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta

6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman

9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas

9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah

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