DUBAI // New signing Leonardo says he has more to offer Al Jazira after his debut on Friday helped lift the club to the top of the Arabian Gulf League.
The Brazilian, who joined this month shortly after winning the 2016 Asian Champions League with South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, set up one goal and scored the winner in Jazira’s 3-2 victory at Al Wasl. Both goals were testament to Leonardo’s set-piece expertise, with the first an assist for Saif Khalfan and the second a curling free-kick that sealed the points.
The result against the division’s third-placed team moved Jazira to the summit, one point above Al Ain after 14 rounds.
Those two sides meet in a potentially defining clash on January 23, in the rescheduled fixture from Round 8.
Given his instant impact, Leonardo promises to be integral to Jazira’s chances of lifting a second UAE championship — their only success was the 2010/11 season — with the forward encouraged by the fact he has settled incredibly quickly in the capital.
Leonardo had trained for only one week before the Wasl match, while he spent the weeks before his transfer on holiday with his family. However, he credited his swift assimilation to his new colleagues.
Asked if his debut was better than he could have expected, Leonardo said: “Of course, after one week you have one assist, one goal and the team win? This is one very good day for me.
“I feel very good. Thank you to God, first, because he gave me power, and my family, my agents, the fans, the coaching staff and the players. Because I’m now one week in Al Jazira but everyone has made me feel like I’ve been here one or two years.
“[Compatriots] Ailton, Joao Carlos, and all the Emirati players, have helped me so much. It’s like one family. Thanks to everybody. I’ll try to continue like this to help Al Jazira more to be at the top.”
Leonardo is seeking to replicate the form shown in his final few months at Jeonbuk, when he played a crucial role in the South Korean’s march to the Champions League title.
With 10 goals, including two in the first leg of the final against Al Ain, Leonardo finished as the tournament’s second-top scorer.
“Before I was playing at the Fifa Club World Cup, then I went with my family to the USA for a holiday and I didn’t train for three weeks,” he said.
“I came back and have trained just one week here with the players and with the team.
“Every day I try to be better, to get my condition back, to take my condition back to be the same player I was when I was with Jeonbuk: the confidence, the power, to help the club more.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
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Company%20profile
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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.
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
