Nemanja Matic is part of the Serbia squad that failed to qualify for Euro 2016. Will Oliver / EPA
Nemanja Matic is part of the Serbia squad that failed to qualify for Euro 2016. Will Oliver / EPA

Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic threatens to quit Serbia over ‘unacceptable attitude’ of teammates



Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic criticised his team mates and said he was on the verge of quitting the national team after Friday’s 4-1 drubbing by the Czech Republic in a friendly.

“I always try to lead by example but some people don’t want to see that,” the 27-year-old Chelsea midfielder said.

“The attitude of some players is unacceptable, not just on the pitch but off it too and it was obvious from the moment we got together on Monday.

“I told our coach (Radovan Curcic) there is no point in me carrying on with the national team if things don’t change.”

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Serbia failed to qualify for Euro 2016 after an awful campaign, having also missed out on the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2012.

The national team’s managing director Savo Milosevic, a former Aston Villa striker, hinted that he and Curcic could pay the price for the barren spell.

“Reading between the lines of Curcic’s statements after the Czech game, one could see that he is on the brink of stepping down and I am in the same boat with him,” Milosevic said.

“I have asked for support and patience for the players in the past eight months but their lack of commitment is quite simply indefensible.”

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Matic cited Serbia’s futile 2-0 win at bitter Balkan rivals Albania in their penultimate Euro 2016 qualifier, when they had already lost any hope of reaching the tournament, as an example of how they should move forward.

“When our personal reputations were on the line we did everything right,” said Matic who has played 26 times for his country.

“But I’d really like to know whether some of my team mates apply the same poor working ethic at their clubs as they do in the national team most of the time.”

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Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

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Transmission: 8-speed automatic

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Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito

Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa

Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".

Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".

Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach

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Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

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AT4 Ultimate, as tested

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Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

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Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm) 
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm) 
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm) 
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn  (4.30pm) 
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm) 
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

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Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Usain Bolt's World Championships record

2007 Osaka

200m Silver

4x100m relay Silver

 

2009 Berlin

100m Gold

200m Gold

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2011 Daegu

100m Disqualified in final for false start

200m Gold

4x100m relay Gold

 

2013 Moscow

100m Gold

200m Gold

4x100m relay Gold

 

2015 Beijing

100m Gold

200m Gold

4x100m relay Gold

 

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Name: Almnssa
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Investments: Grants/private funding
UAE Falcons

Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.