At the end of his first two days supervising the Barcelona first-team, Ronald Koeman would be forgiven if he had glanced briefly back at what he gave up for the opportunity to become their head coach. Lively though his first sessions were there is no ignoring the great dark clouds hanging over Barca.
The big, thunderous one is the absence of the world's finest player. Two weeks ago, Koeman made it his priority, after being headhunted from his job coaching the Netherlands, to meet with Lionel Messi and explain he intended to rebuild Barca around the resident star and captain. Messi, it quickly emerged, sees his future elsewhere. He has not attended training this week as the battle over if, and how, he might leave continues.
Twelve other Barcelona players are currently absent on international duty, and two of the senior men who have been taking orders from Koeman have already been told by him they can leave. One of those, Luis Suarez, 33, will leave a huge gap; another, Arturo Vidal, will not be leaving quietly. He arrived at practice having aired some explosive remarks in an interview.
“Barcelona have to change their thinking,” said the 33-year-old Chilean, “because they are being left behind. Football is developing into a more physical game, more about strength and speed.
Technique is less important.” None of which was welcomed by the purists who regard ‘The Barcelona Way’, privileging possession-football, as almost sacred.
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No sign of Messi at Barca
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Koeman does not expect to be in daily dialogue with Vidal for much longer, the midfielder, formerly of Bayern Munich and Juventus, most likely to take his warrior ways to a Serie A club in the coming days.
But Koeman would recognise a hint of truth in the suggestion that Barcelona need to raise the physical side of their game. The team who lost 8-2 to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-final last month was ageing, brittle and short of stamina.
Koeman also recognises he is a symbol of The Barcelona Way. Thirty years ago, the Dutchman was brought as a player to Barcelona by Johan Cruyff, when Cruyff, whose pass-and-move principles have been the club’s style-template for close to half a century, was head coach. Koeman was a defender, but one whose passing, and indeed goalscoring, were exceptional.
Over a long varied managerial career, he has been a pragmatist more than a purist. But nobody has more experience of how important is a team’s identity and tradition is to supporters.
Until two-and-a-half weeks ago, Koeman was in charge of a national team which is as self-conscious as any about the sort of football it should aspire to: the Netherlands, home of so-called Total Football, and a sporting culture still in thrall to the late Cruyff.
Netherlands, thanks largely to Koeman, who took over the national team in 2018, are on the up. Having failed to reach either the finals of Euro 2016 or the last World Cup, they were catapulted by Koeman to second place in the 2019 Uefa Nations League and qualification for the postponed Euro 2020 tournament.
Koeman had always been clear. If he had a chance of coaching Barca, he would take it. “It was his dream, so it’s not a great surprise,” said Virgil van Dijk, the Dutch captain about Koeman’s switch. “We’re disappointed because he’s a great coach, but we understand.”
Holland are entitled to feel a little orphaned. They will play their two Nations League matches, against Poland and Italy, this week under the watch of a caretaker, Dwight Lodeweges, pending the appointment of what will be a sixth head coach in as many years.
Koeman would advise the next man in that it is a job with good prospects of success, with promising young players emerging - the Dutch were European Under 17 champions in 2018 and 2019 - and some distinguished, freshly-minted club medals in the hands of the seniors, from Van Dijk and Gini Wijnadum's Premier League golds with Liverpool, to Luuk de Jong's Europa League gong from last month.
Memphis Depay has had a good summer, too, with the surprise Champions League semi-finalists, Lyon, as have Nathan Ake and Donny van de Beek, joining Manchester City and Manchester United.
Theirs is a national side with a spine of excellence. Koeman may come to envy that, as he contemplates the ragged patchwork of problems at Barcelona.
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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.”
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
