Rafa Benitez insists his relationship with the Real Madrid's youth team coach Zinedine Zidane is good, despite the Frenchman reportedly being lined up to take his job.
However, Benitez had less empathy for old foe and former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho days after his departure from Chelsea.
“I have no opinion, I am concentrating on my own game,” the former Liverpool manager said when questioned about Mourinho, with whom he clashed several times during his stints in England.
Read more: Richard Jolly on why Cristiano Ronaldo has done enough to deserve the Ballon d'Or
A run of three defeats in five league games, including a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona, has left Madrid five points behind the Catalan club and Atletico Madrid at the top of the table in La Liga.
Despite being publicly backed by club president Florentino Perez, rumours persist of unrest in the dressing room and that one more defeat in the coming weeks could cost Benitez his job.
Zidane is short on experience, having only ever taken charge of Madrid’s feeder team Castilla, but would be a popular choice among the fans given his hero status after scoring a sensational winning goal in the 2002 Champions League final.
“Zidane is a good coach, he is in a learning phase and the relationship is good,” said Benitez.
“We swap information on which players should come up and go back down and nothing more.”
Benitez’s numbers in his first six months in charge stack up poorly compared to Madrid’s last three coaches Carlo Ancelotti, Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini.
However, he fought back against the critics, citing the large number of injuries suffered by key players at Madrid this season, and insisted they will compete to win both La Liga and the Champions League come the end of the season.
“Every season is different because the circumstances are different,” he added.
“The team has qualified brilliantly in the Champions League and in La Liga everything can change in a couple of weeks. Therefore, I am convinced that the team will do well and will fight for the league and the Champions League.”
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Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
Signs of heat stroke
- The loss of sodium chloride in our sweat can lead to confusion and an altered mental status and slurred speech
- Body temperature above 39°C
- Hot, dry and red or damp skin can indicate heatstroke
- A faster pulse than usual
- Dizziness, nausea and headaches are also signs of overheating
- In extreme cases, victims can lose consciousness and require immediate medical attention
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
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
