Sometimes a footballer resolves his manager’s selection dilemma. It can be with a performance of such distinction that it dictates that he simply has to play. Or he can remove himself from contention with an act of crass stupidity. That can have the same effect.
Louis van Gaal had seemingly concluded that four into three wouldn’t go and that one of Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata would have to start on the bench.
Rooney’s red card against West Ham rules him out until November. Mata, so unfortunate to be dropped, can return. Problem solved, at least in the short term.
[ Read more: Andy Mitten on Manchester United fresh face Paddy McNair and his trial-by-fire against West Ham ]
In the long term, Rooney’s dismissal and departure from the side while he serves a three-match suspension should give Van Gaal time to reflect on two pivotal issues: whether he deserves either his place in the team, let alone the captaincy.
United skippers are not required to have an immaculate disciplinary record. Roy Keane and Nemanja Vidic both received more than their share of red cards and some of the Irishman’s dismissals were particularly needless. Yet it is undeniable they were inspirational figures, serving as commanders-in-chief on the field.
But charging around like a bull in a china shop does not constitute leadership. There was the sense that Rooney was losing control in last week’s 5-3 defeat at Leicester City. He did on Saturday.
Rooney is fortunate that his explanation of his kick at Stewart Downing has been widely accepted, not least by Van Gaal. He presented it as a selfless act, a cynical ploy to halt a counter-attack that went very wrong.
If so, it was an incompetent attempt to stop the West Ham winger; he could have done that simply by tugging him back. It looked rather more like a wild hack, the sort that should have resulted in a sending off at Cardiff City last season.
With distinctly imperfect timing, an interview with Rooney was published at the weekend, marking the 10th anniversary of his United debut. In it, he claimed he had matured on and off the pitch. On the field, he swiftly refuted his own argument.
He also claimed he can improve as a player in the next two or three years. The alternative theory is that, at 28, he has already entered into premature decline. The five-and-a-half year contract United handed him threatens to be far too long for the club’s benefit.
It is worth remembering that, when handing Rooney the armband, Van Gaal said he wanted his skipper to be a “fixture” in the side. That serves as a sure sign Van Gaal did not expect Falcao’s arrival, and rather disproves the notion United’s summer spending was carefully planned.
By the middle of September, the manager had changed his tune a little. No one was guaranteed a place, he said, but his captain had certain privileges. So when he concluded Falcao was a more potent forward, he moved his skipper into a deeper role.
“I was not so satisfied with Rooney as a striker and Mata as a midfielder,” he said. The luckless Spaniard was shifted to the flanks to accommodate the Englishman last season and shoved out of the side this.
In his defence, Rooney performed the attacking half of his job well against West Ham, arriving into the penalty area behind strikers Van Persie and Falcao to convert the opener in the manner of a seasoned attacking midfielder.
His record of three goals in six starts this season is respectable, but a familiar criticism of Rooney over the past three years is that undistinguished displays are camouflaged by the statistics.
A reputation established in his more dynamic days has sustained him for too long. It is why the appointment of the forthright Van Gaal is so intriguing.
Yet even the outspoken Dutchman was fooled by United’s seemingly successful pre-season; he believed his squad was stronger and his defenders better than they have proved.
His decision to elevate Rooney from the ranks was another early measure that may be a misjudgement.
Not that there were many other candidates. Rooney’s appointment as captain of club and country was based on two factors: a shortage of plausible alternatives and the fact he really, really wanted it. Neither provides proof he is suited to it.
The descent of the red mist and the brandishing of the inevitable red card suggest not. This was an accident waiting to happen. Having handed him an absurdly generous contract and then the captaincy, Rooney presents United a problem. It is one of their own making.
sports@thenational.ae
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
CRICKET WORLD CUP LEAGUE 2
Mannofield, Aberdeen
All matches start at 2pm UAE time and will be broadcast on icc.tv
UAE fixtures
Wednesday, Aug 10 – Scotland v UAE
Thursday, Aug 11 - UAE v United States
Saturday, Aug 14 – Scotland v UAE
Monday, Aug 15 – UAE v United States
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, CP Rizwan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu
Table (top three teams advance directly to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier)
1. Oman 36 21 13 1 1 44
2. Scotland 24 16 6 0 2 34
3. UAE 22 12 8 1 1 26
--
4. Namibia 18 9 9 0 0 18
5. United States 24 11 12 1 0 23
6. Nepal 20 8 11 1 0 17
7. Papua New Guinea 20 1 19 0 0 2
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
What is Dungeons & Dragons?
Dungeons & Dragons began as an interactive game which would be set up on a table in 1974. One player takes on the role of dungeon master, who directs the game, while the other players each portray a character, determining its species, occupation and moral and ethical outlook. They can choose the character’s abilities, such as strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom and charisma. In layman’s terms, the winner is the one who amasses the highest score.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
FIVE TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE UAE BANKING
• The digitisation of financial services will continue
• Managing and using data effectively will become a competitive advantage
• Digitisation will require continued adjustment of operating models
• Banks will expand their role in the customer life through ecosystems
• The structure of the sector will change