At around ten past six on Thursday evening, Copenhagen time, whatever the score and whatever the circumstances of the match, a special round of applause is planned.
It is confidently forecast that, from a hospital bed not far from the Parken stadium where Denmark will be playing Belgium, the man in whose honour 25,000 people are clapping will be watching, wide awake and alert.
The prognosis is that Christian Eriksen, who collapsed suddenly after a cardiac arrest on Saturday while playing for Denmark, is making a sufficient recovery in hospital to be fully engaged with how his team-mates respond to the alarming, life-threatening moment during their match against Finland.
He has been in touch with them, had visits from some, and knows that in all corners of a sport Eriksen has distinguished through his stellar career he will be regarded, even at distance, as the key figure in Denmark’s first full match since his collapse.
“He’ll be watching the game, for sure,” said Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand yesterday, “and he is close by. He could actually look out of his window and see the stadium.”
Fans, both of Denmark and Belgium, have agreed on the tenth-minute show of support in honour of Eriksen’s national team jersey number, the number 10 – the jersey that identifies him as “the rhythm of the team, the heart of the team,” as Hjulmand put it.
Hjulmand’s overwhelming emotion over the last five days has been relief, that Eriksen’s life had been saved by prompt medical attention, and the immediate assistance in the first seconds of crisis by team-mates like captain Simon Kjaer.
But after the overwhelming concern for Eriksen’s health had been soothed, there would be a variety of feelings, including some anger that Denmark’s players, once they had been assured that their colleague was stable in hospital, were presented on Saturday evening with a restrictive choice about how to proceed with the match against Finland. It had been paused in the 43rd minute for Eriksen’s emergency, then suspended.
Uefa, the Euro 2020 organisers, offered two alternatives: to resume on the same Saturday evening, or to return for noon the next day. The players accepted resuming rather than delaying, knowing that they would have a sleepless night, deeply affected by what had happened. Denmark lost 1-0, to a second-half Finland goal. Hjulmand later criticised Uefa for a “lack of compassion”.
Euro 2020 has been an event defined by health concerns. It was postponed for a year because of the pandemic, attendance at stadiums has been limited by social-distancing protocols and, acknowledging that the frequent coronavirus testing of players would likely yield some positive tests, a mechanism was built into the schedule that matches could be postponed by up to 48 hours in an emergency.
Hjulmand believes the right response last Saturday would have been for Uefa to suggest a delay closer to that length of time.
But the coach and the players’ focus since Monday has been to “move forward, step by step, towards normality,” said Hjulmand. “We are still thinking about Christian, but gradually there has been more time with good feelings than bad ones.”
His aim is that Denmark, playing for Eriksen, just as most of the 25,000 in attendance will be cheering for Eriksen, can “use all our energy to show who we are, and to show that we battle whatever the circumstances.
“We’ve discussed how emotional it will be, and you have to prepare for all those emotions,” the coach acknowledged.
“There have been some difficult days,” added Thomas Delaney, the Denmark midfielder, “but we’ve had time to reflect, away from football, and slowly got back to some normality.”
“An experience like this makes people show their true feelings, and in some ways we know each other even better than before,” said striker Yussuf Poulsen. “We’ve seen our true togetherness. We all know the most important thing is that Christian is okay.”
If the Danish players have Eriksen uppermost in their thoughts at kick-off, Denmark will miss him in a very practical sense.
“Our team could never be stronger without Christian in it,” said Hjulmand, “but we have a lot of very good players and we just have to do things a little differently now.”
Denmark have to apply their resolve, their drive to honour their absent lodestar against a Belgium who are ranked the No 1 national team in the world.
The%20specs
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RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
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
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
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More from Neighbourhood Watch
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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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.”
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5