Maurizio Sarri has always been an unusual sort of revolutionary. He had been a coach for 29 years before he landed his first major trophy. He is the footballing idealist who used to work in investment banking. He is the former banker who does everything he can to avoid wearing a suit.
On Sunday, Sarri, 61, became the oldest manager to become champion of his native Italy, with a Serie A title in his first season in charge of Juventus. "If you've won it with me, the guy who never won anything, you must be really good," Sarri joked to his Juventus players after Sunday night's 2-0 victory over Sampdoria sealed the scudetto with two matches in hand.
The remark sounded slightly barbed. Sarri led Chelsea to the Europa League title in 2019, in his sole season working outside Italy, and - as he likes to point out - oversaw championship seasons in the lower reaches of Italian football during his long climb up from the amateur ranks.
He is not really such a novice. He is in his fifth full season in Italy’s top division, where his work in building a thrilling Napoli between 2015 and 2018 will for a long time recommend him as a genuinely daring and visionary manager.
What his Juventus have not done, yet, is mirror Sarri’s best Napoli teams for entertainment. He may simply need time, and perhaps stronger arguments about why a Juventus now celebrating their ninth successive title should open themselves up to revolutionary changes of style when they know so well the formula that delivers league titles.
In this peculiar stop-start season, overshadowed by the national tragedy of the coronavirus epidemic, Juventus have done one or two revolutionary things under their non-conformist coach. For a start, they let in far more goals they ever did in winning the league under Antonio Conte (2012, 2013 and 2014) or Max Allegri (five years up until 2019).
Mean old Juve, the club who never used to concede more than 30 in a season and sometimes as few as 20, have been leaking them with abandon under Sarri. Thirty-eight and counting in 2019-20, including four in 18 mad minutes at AC Milan and three in 25 minutes at Sassuolo this month alone. The win against Sampdoria featured the first clean sheet in eight games, and only the second Juventus victory in six.
And this at the club who added Matthijs de Ligt - at the time the third most expensive defender in history - to their roster last summer. "We had problems at times understanding the coach's approach," said Leo Bonucci, the veteran pillar of the back line.
But Juve have probably the best possible striker to compensate for shortcomings at the back. This has been another awe-inspiring season for Cristiano Ronaldo, who, had he not struck the crossbar with a penalty on Sunday would have taken his tally of league goals for the season to 32 in his 32 appearances and his record since the June restart to 11 from 10.
Sarri can claim some credit for maximising his best match-winning asset, channeling 35-year-old Ronaldo’s energies in the most productive areas.
The hand of the coach, a studious planner, was apparent in the goal that put Juventus 1-0 up against Sampdoria: a direct free-kick that Samp expected Miralem Pjanic to shoot from, or to float a cross with, was drilled square to Ronaldo, who benefited from the element of surprise to thump in his 31st league goal.
Greater stamina from rivals would have tested Juventus’s flaws. Lazio, who looked the most accomplished team in the division for perhaps two-thirds of the season, fell away badly. Inter Milan, under Antonio Conte, have been exasperatingly brittle.
Atalanta, the most watchable Italian team of the season, lack the depth and resources to be contenders in both Serie A and the Champions League, where they have reached the last eight.
In that competition, Juve are halfway through the last 16, and trailing 1-0 to Olympique Lyonnais in the postponed tie they will complete on August 7 in Turin. Paulo Dybala, a success under Sarri, is a fitness doubt for that game.
Much hinges on it, and on further progress in the European Cup. Sarri may need to get Juve to the final to feel completely secure of being on the touchline for the next season of his three-year contract.
He and his employers will look at how the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid finished their league seasons and know that Juve may have won the Italian title, as usual, but that they did so displaying their flaws more obviously than the in-form clubs now preparing for Europe.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
