The prize-givings may have been delayed, by circumstances beyond their control, but Bayern Munich still bring a haste and urgency to their work. The Bundesliga title was seized, with maximum efficiency, once the season resumed. The transfer market has been crowbarred open, with Bayern making Leroy Sane theirs, some 12 months after they first convinced him to swap Manchester for Munich.
On Saturday, the Bayern juggernaut speeds on to the next target, in Berlin, where they are confident of competing a domestic double in a Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen.
For Sane, who will be watching, the event should provide ample evidence that German football is as accommodating a place as any for a young, exceptionally talented footballer to thrive.
On the left flank which Sane, 24, expects to be gliding along for Bayern in 2020-21, he will see 19-year-old Alphonso Davies, the Canadian whom Bayern have channeled with great success into a role as an attacking full-back.
Sane will watch Serge Gnabry, 25, whose career has soared since he exchanged a Premier League apprenticeship – with Arsenal – for the Bundesliga. And if Kingsley Coman, 24, takes his recent form to Berlin, Sane will be reminded that competition for starting places on either wing at Bayern will be stiff next season. Sane will also see his former Schalke 04 colleague, Leon Goretzka, 25, putting on show his enhanced repertoire as an true all-terrain midfielder.
Bayern’s unceasing command of German club football – their latest title was their eighth on the trot; they have been in seven of the last 10 Cup finals, winning five – has long been accompanied by the belief that all the best German players should eventually gravitate to Munich, and that personal ambition and Bayern’s financial muscle will combine to entice them there.
Hence the interest in Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, the 21-year-old last week found himself on the podium for the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year, behind Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, scorer of 34 league goals, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.
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Bundesliga season in pictures
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Havertz will outgrow Leverkusen, very possibly within the next two months, and while there is a resigned sadness at the club that a homegrown talent is already restless, Leverkusen know the drill.
Julian Brandt left them for Dortmund last summer, Bernd Leno for Arsenal 12 months earlier, both part of a long list that goes back through Toni Kroos to Michael Ballack, who both moved from Leverkusen to Bayern. It is not fanciful to suggest Havertz may become as influential a footballer as Ballack and Kroos.
Nor is it fanciful to imagine Leverkusen might haul in the sort of transfer fee that, in the age of the coronavirus crisis, was thought to be a thing of the past. They value Havertz at a massive €100m (Dh414m), and have been made aware that, beyond Bayern, there are several potential suitors in the Premier League, Chelsea among them.
Leverkusen have also looked at the deal taking Sane from City to Bayern for a fee that might rise to over €60m with add-ons, and calculate that even in a recession, that represents a high benchmark. Sane has been out injured for most of the last year.
In that period Havertz has eclipsed the winger as probably the most thrilling young Germany footballer to watch, two-footed, confident in the excellence of his technique and, head up, eyes forward, a creator with the same knack for seeing the perfect pass as Kroos.
He has a turn of speed, too, and the height and strength to make an impact at centre-forward, though his best role is probably playing off the striker, or attacking from wide positions.
“He has a world-class career ahead of him,” said Rudi Voller, the former Germany striker and head coach, and now a director at Leverkusen.
“You look at the way he was elegantly stroking the ball around and scoring important goals for us since the restart, and you know one of his great assets is how he responds to pressure.”
Leverkusen finished the season in a tight battle to clinch a top four place. It failed only on the last day of the campaign. Havertz, who only turned 21 this month, captained the club several times in the run-in, and scored six goals in his eight league outings after the restart.
Missing out on next season’s Champions League was a blow to Leverkusen, and to the chances of their retaining their jewel of a talent for next season. Voller is keen to emphasise Havertz can still end this campaign gloriously, with a Cup final and a Europa League run. Leverkusen are 3-1 up on Glasgow Rangers from the first leg of their last-16 tie, and Uefa plan to stage the remainder of the tournament next month in Germany. “Things are coming together beautifully for him,” said Voller.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
UAE%20SQUAD
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
More on Quran memorisation:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
