AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf expects a formidable challenge from on-form Atletico Madrid on their visit to the San Siro for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday.
Seedorf took charge of the ailing Italian giants following the sacking of former handler Massimiliano Allegri in early January.
But after three wins in five league games and a quarter-final exit from the Italian Cup at the hands of Udinese, the jury remains out on the 37-year-old Dutchman who spent 10 success-laden years at the club.
Atletico, who are pushing Barcelona and Real Madrid for command of La Liga, are firm favourites for a win that would boost their quarter-final chances ahead of the return leg at the Vicente Calderon in a fortnight.
Nevertheless, Seedorf, the only player to have won Europe’s most prestigious club trophy with three different clubs – Ajax, Real Madrid and twice with Milan – is relishing the challenge.
“It will be another great opportunity to take another step forward in the competition,” Seedorf said on Friday after striker Mario Balotelli scored a stunning 86th minute winner against Bologna.
“Atletico are well organised, strong and have great forwards.
“But I know we will raise our game for the Champions League and I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with the San Siro that I got to know so well in this competition.”
Whether support can give Milan anything extra remains to be seen.
Atletico are currently on fire in La Liga, where striker Diego Costa, on 21 goals, is only one behind championship leader Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid.
And despite Balotelli’s wonder goal on Friday, it was an otherwise tepid performance from the Italian giants.
Milan, nevertheless, have succeeded where both Juventus and Napoli failed in reaching the last 16 and Costa says Atletico will be taking nothing for granted.
“Milan are a big side with a great tradition and they know how to play these type of games,” said the Brazilian.
“We need to produce a solid, all-round performance and go with the mentality we have had all season if we are to come away with a positive result.”
Full-backs Filipe Luis and Manquillo are the only injury absentees for Atletico coach Diego Simeone, who played two seasons at Milan’s city rivals Inter and three at Lazio.
Seedorf, meanwhile, is expected to welcome Kaka back into the starting line-up after the Brazilian forward’s recent recovery from an injury knock.
Arguably Milan’s most deadly weapon, however, will be Balotelli. Despite several questionable performances in Serie A this season the 23-year-old relishes the big stage.
Both Costa and Simeone admit the Italy marksman will be one to watch.
“There’s no question about Balotelli’s quality,” Costa told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He’s a great striker and one of the world’s best players. Our defence know that and will be doing everything stop him scoring.”
“I saw the (Milan) game on Friday,” added Simeone.
“It was headed for a scoreless draw but was settled by a moment of genius. We need to be careful with him.”
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.”
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
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Bournemouth 0
Manchester United 2
Smalling (28'), Lukaku (70')
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
