THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
It was the news few associated with UAE football wanted to hear.
It had been mooted, since a jarring of the right knee and the stretcher and the tears and the crutches and the conjecture, but confirmation arrived late Tuesday night.
Omar Abdulrahman had suffered a tear to his anterior cruciate ligament on Saturday night, before the Saudi Pro League match against Al Shabab Riyadh had really got going, and the Al Hilal midfielder required surgery. A significant period of rehabilitation, too.
By most estimates, Abdulrahman’s recovery will stretch far beyond the 2019 Asian Cup, the tournament with the UAE as its host, the continent’s greatest prize to be contested without one of the continent’s prized performers.
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Read more:
Exclusive: Omar Abdulrahman on Rafa Nadal, inspiring Emirati youth and scoring against Barcelona
UAE teammates rally around Abdulrahman after injury casts doubt on Asian Cup participation
Asian Cup: Zaccheroni has 'total faith in my players' as UAE draw Thailand, India and Bahrain
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Abdulrahman is expected to miss the entire event. The UAE will no doubt miss him, since the former Al Ain captain has for some time been his team’s creative fulcrum, the supplier of the key pass, the provider of that final ball for Ali Mabkhout or Ahmed Khalil – the other members of the UAE’s ‘Big Three’ – to add to their international goal tally. Often, Abdulrahman would see a pass where there should not be one, or execute with whichever part of his left foot made most sense to him, but little to the rest of us.
More broadly, the Asian Cup will miss him as well. Abdulrahman shone at the most recent event, almost four years ago, lighting up the tournament in Australia as the UAE took home bronze - their finest result on foreign soil. Abdulrahman departed with the lion's share of the plaudits, despite Mabkhout capturing the golden boot.
The following year he was crowned Asia's best player. World Cup ambitions aside, the 2019 Asian Cup on home turf, with Abdulrahman aged 27 and meant to be somewhere close to his peak, was supposed to represent his crowning glory.
Yet, and no matter the reservoir of water under the bridge between then and now, it seems almost guaranteed that he has been starved of the opportunity. And from the outpouring of well wishes and hopes of a rapid recovery sprouts the next question: how do the UAE possibly compensate for the loss?
To some extent, they have been here before. Abdulrahman has a chequered injury record - this will be his third major knee surgery, although first since 2012 - and this year he was absent for the King’s Cup, thought primarily to be punishment for an alleged breaking of curfew at the Gulf Cup of Nations.
Famously, Abdulrahman missed twice from the penalty spot in Kuwait as the UAE lost the final to Oman. In truth, it emphasised the playmaker’s funk at the time. Abdulrahman had been far from his best in national colours for an uncharacteristically protracted period, impacted by injury and dating back to World Cup qualification, and manager Alberto Zaccheroni has struggled to find a system that maximises his star man’s mastery while offering balance to the side.
Now the Italian must shape a team for the Asian Cup no longer able to rely not only on an inconsistent Khalil, but on Abdulrahman. The build-up has been tough: one win and five goals in eight matches. Abdulrahman notched the last, a superb curled effort this month against Honduras, a strike that appeared to reinforce the feeling at Hilal that he was gravitating, finally, towards top form.
Undeniably, filling the sizeable hole left by the slip of a player with a mighty talent constitutes no easy task. At first glance, Khalfan Mubarak sounds the most obvious replacement, a similarly adroit creator who has excelled at Al Jazira during the opening months of the domestic season. He has an unrivalled seven assists.
But Mubarak, 23, has still to replicate that in a UAE jersey, albeit he has rarely been afforded the chance. In two years, he has made five appearances.
Finding an answer to the Abdulrahman conundrum, be it individual or collective, presents Zaccheroni with an unenviable endeavour little more than two months from kick-off against Bahrain on January 5.
Tuesday delivered the news he wished never to receive. He is not alone, for Abdulrahman's Asian Cup absence will be felt far outside the national team's confines.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.