Ahead of the start of the new Indian Super League football season, which begins Saturday with Chennaiyin taking on champions Atletico de Kolkata, we take a look at six players to watch for in the months ahead:
Lucio (Goa)
World Cup winner, Uefa Champions League winner and title winner in Germany and Italy, few players in the ISL boast the CV of Brazil’s 2010 World Cup captain. Though he is 35, he will be more than capable of organising FC Goa’s defence, and another shot at the title looks well within reach for him and countryman coach Zico.
Elano Blumer (Chennaiyin)
One of the inaugural season’s stand-out players, the former Manchester City player, 34, helped Chennaiyin to the play-offs with a haul of eight goals and the Brazilian will once again be central to his club’s hopes of success.
Helder Postiga (Atletico de Kolkata)
Despite a chequered career, at 33, former Portugal international Postiga should have enough in the tank to succeed at this level. Many fans remember him for a brief, unsuccessful, spell at Tottenham Hotspur, but the man who scored 27 goals in 71 matches for his country will be a welcome addition to last season’s champions.
Florent Malouda (Delhi Dynamos)
A season each at Trabzonspor and Metz have shown diminishing returns from the Frenchman, 35, but the successor to Alessandro Del Piero will be hoping for one last hurrah in Delhi, where his experience (six seasons at Chelsea, four at Lyon) should compensate for his fading legs.
John Arne Riise (Delhi Dynamos)
The 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool has a ferocious shot and with defences in the league allowing more space than what he has been used to in his later years in the English Premier League and in Italy’s Serie A, Riise, 35, could have one more big season.
Harmanjot Khabra (Chennaiyin)
The versatile 26-year-old Indian midfielder has re-signed for a second loan spell at Chennaiyin FC from I-League outfit East Bengal, after being one of the driving forces behind the club’s first-place finish in the 2014 regular season.
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
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7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
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8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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