Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was proud of his players' efforts after they defeated Manchester United 2-1 in Skopje to win the Uefa Super Cup, saying they "never get tired of winning" as they continued their fine run of success under his tutelage.
The Primera Liga and Uefa Champions League winners last season were too strong for Jose Mourinho's side as goals from Casemiro and Isco won the game, with Romelu Lukaku scoring United's consolation.
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Mourinho upbeat despite loss to Real Madrid
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Indeed United could have won by more as Casemiro hit the bar with Tuesday's game at the Philip II Arena still goalless, and Gareth Bale struck the frame of the goal in the second half.
"You cannot play and play beautiful football at the same level for 90 minutes," Zidane said of the result.
"We played at a high quality, we suffered, yes, but we controlled the game.
"If Gareth Bale scores the third it's over.
"But we were against an opponent who wanted to cause us problems and it's normal if we suffered a bit."
Real captain Sergio Ramos echoed his manager's view that it had been a good workout for his side ahead of the domestic campaign beginning next week.
"We were superior for almost all of the game and it's important that we've started the season by winning a trophy against a team that did everything they could to win," Ramos said.
"Towards the end they had more chances and tried direct play with physical players but we stayed calm in the tense moments and kept the ball. Aside from the final minutes, we had a great game."
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
