ABU DHABI // Josef Hickersberger, the Al Wahda manager, said that winning the Pro League is one of his greatest achievements. Wahda were presented with the trophy after their final game of the season at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Friday night, having thrashed Al Nasr 3-0 to finish the season unbeaten at home. Hickersberger, 62, enjoyed title success in Bahrain, with Al Ahli in 1996 and Qatar with Al Ittihad in 2002, as well as in 2005 with Rapid Vienna in his native Austria.
He said: "I have had two stints in the Emirates with Al Shaab and Al Wasl, and obviously winning the league with Wahda is the best yet. We wanted to win this game for records sake as we had won all our previous league fixtures at home and also to add to the official celebration on the night. "The league was our primary target from the onset and we achieved with a little sacrifice in the other competitions."
By virtue of becoming the league champions Wahda will now represent the UAE at the Club World Cup in December as the host nation. They will be looking to do better than Al Ahli, the previous champions, who were knocked out of the Club World Cup in their first match by Auckland City, the part-timers from New Zealand. Their season never recovered and the Dubai club finished eight in the table. Wahda made it clear what their priority was this season, focusing on the league to the detriment of their Asian Champions League campaign, which saw them finish bottom of Group B.
Haider Ali, the Wahda captain, said: "This team was one of the best for a long time but for some strange reason we were not winning trophies. We ended that after five years and hopefully can carry on as the top team for the next season, and of course give a good account of ourselves in the Club World Cup." apassela@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks
