PHILADELPHIA // Jurgen Klinsmann praised an encouraging performance from his US team after his first match in charge ended in a 1-1 draw against Mexico last night.
Robbie Rogers saved the new coach from a debut defeat with a 73rd minute equaliser, and said he had been inspired by the German all-time great.
"It was a special moment," Klinsmann said.
"It was a special moment before the game, listening to the anthem and feeling the energy from the stadium and the players."
The match, in front of 30,138 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, came less than two weeks after Klinsmann was hired and the coach had only held three training sessions before his debut.
Fans are hoping he can shake-up the team after a string of lacklustre results.
Since reaching the last 16 at the World Cup last year, the US have been stagnant.
They were dominated by Spain in June, shocked by Panama in the group stage of the Gold Cup and fell to Mexico in the Gold Cup final after blowing a two goal lead.
That defeat cost former coach Bob Bradley his job.
Klinsmann's name had come up before in connection with the US coaching post — after the 2006 World Cup and again last year, when US Soccer gave Bradley a contract extension that proved to be short-lived.
The coach said he was pleased with Rogers' effort and with the energy that 21-year-old Brek Shea brought to the pitch.
Shea's cross was tapped in by Rogers, who had come on in place of Michael Bradley, the son of the sacked coach, just two minutes earlier.
"We wanted to see a performance with energy and excitement and with the goal that the fans were really going to enjoy their team," Klinsmann said.
Even short exposure to Klinsmann's coaching had been inspiring, according to Rogers.
"I have really enjoyed playing for Jurgen. He has a lot of confidence in us, and to get that goal made me feel good," the player said.
"I had just entered the match so it was a little surprising. I'll take it."
Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when Oribe Peralta collected a cross from Andres Guardado, got around Michael Bradley and fired a shot that the US keeper Tim Howard could not save.
"It was a pass from Andres, the only thing I did was stick my leg out in front of the defender and I was able to put it in," Peralta said.
For some time, the US looked like the team that Mexico beat in the Gold Cup, with no real scoring chances in the first half.
Shea's entry in the 59th minute helped change that.
"In the second half, I thought we saw a very exciting game. It was an amazing learning process that the players went through," Klinsmann said.
The German, whose team will host Costa Rica in a friendly at Los Angeles on September 2, said he thinks he has something to build on.
"I think we can be very satisfied with that performance," he said.
"It was great to see some young players stepping into this team and being guided by the experienced ones... It's enjoyable to see how they go for it."
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.