The last time they shared a pitch, 90 minutes away from a major final, they stood shoulder to shoulder.
They were the master and his apprentice, 13 years apart in age, compatriots with the weight of a nation’s expectations on their shoulders.
The occasion was a coming of age for Eric Bailly, and turned out to be a blessed relief for Kolo Toure.
The two centre-halves, internationals for the Ivory Coast at either ends of their careers, both hope to feature for the full 90 minutes or more in Thursday night’s second leg of the Europa League semi-final at Anfield.
Liverpool, missing the banned Mamadou Sakho and with concerns over the form of Martin Skrtel, are expected to maintain Toure at the heart of their defence in a tie delicately poised at 1-0 to tonight's visitors.
Villarreal are buoyed in their belief they can keep the English club at bay because of Bailly’s return to fitness from a minor thigh complaint.
Ask around Spanish football about Villarreal's success this season, why they are on course to qualify for the Uefa Champions League, and you will be pointed towards the tidy defending of the unpretentious club from the Mediterranean, meaner at the back than Real Madrid and only marginally leakier than Barcelona.
The contributions of their tall, boyish stopper have not gone unnoticed. Ask around Europe about the best young centre-halves, and Bailly’s name crops up quickly.
Ask Bailly about his precocious development and he will reply that he had sound role models to learn from. The name Kolo Toure crops up quickly.
When Bailly was 10 years old, growing up near Abidjan, the older of the celebrated Toure brothers was going through an entire Premier League season unbeaten with Arsenal, a pathfinder for Ivorian football in the glamorous elite of the sport, well before Didier Drogba became the national hero.
Fully a decade ago, Kolo was appearing in a Champions League final. That one he lost, a member of the Arsenal team beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.
In the decade since, Kolo Toure has grasped at big prizes, gained some (including a Premier League with Manchester City) and not quite clutched onto others.
But 15 months ago, he at last held onto the one that slipped away most frustratingly. That was the Africa Cup of Nations, where Toure and Bailly lined up next to one another at centre-half in Equatorial Guinea.
Toure, now 35, had planned his retirement from 15 years’ service with the Ivorian national team to coincide with a winning final. He had already lost two Nations Cup finals with his country and wanted to bow out with the gold medal that had proved so elusive.
In Bailly, 20 at the time, Toure found a handy ally for the task. Quick and athletic, Bailly complemented the veteran. Experienced and vocal, Toure guided the novice, consoled Bailly when he gave away a penalty in the semi-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the one setback on the way to a 3-1 win.
Come the final, they proved an invincible pairing for two hours, holding to a goalless draw against a talented Ghana attack.
Come the penalty shoot-out, the wise old head and the newcomer both held their nerve. Toure took spot-kick No 7 and Bailly No 9 of the 11 Ivory Coast required to win the title.
Toure might have eased down his club career after that, taken a gig outside Europe. When he made no starts in the Premier League from the beginning of Liverpool’s season up until new year, he might have supposed he should have moved on.
But the last few months have made him feel important again, appreciated for his savvy, the skill at what his former coach with Ivory Coast, Herve Renard, calls “being a manager on the pitch”.
Villarreal’s Bailly, the New Kolo Toure of Ivory Coast’s team, has been one of the beneficiaries of that.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
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9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Slow loris biog
From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
