DUBAI // A World Cup winner and a proud owner of the 2006 European Golden Shoe, Luca Toni has set his sights on reaching the top of the Pro League scoring charts and ending Al Nasr's 26-year wait for a league title.
"I have scored a lot of goals in Italy and Germany, and I hope I can continue doing that here," Toni said at an introductory news conference yesterday. "I want to help my colleagues, my coach and my club to win something.
"I am here to win and will give my best in every game. We will see where we can reach."
Toni, 34, has been one of the finest finishers in the game over the past decade, with 2006 being a particularly memorable year, when he won the World Cup with Italy and was named in the Fifa World Cup All-Star team.
He was the top scorer in Serie A with Fiorentina that year and led Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2008. That same year, he finished as the leading scorer in the Uefa Cup.
Nasr have been knocked out of the President's Cup and cannot progress to the semi-finals of the Etisalat Cup, but they have emerged as prime contenders in the Pro League.
Walter Zenga's side have a nine-match league unbeaten streak, during which they have earned 23 points, and are second in the table, three points behind Al Ain and one ahead of the defending champions Al Jazira.
Mark Bresciano, who spent 12 season in Italy before coming to Nasr last year, is the leading league scorer for the team with six goals.
Toni is determined to take over that position from the Australian midfielder. "Bresciano is a good player, but I hope I can start scoring goals quickly because I want to be No 1 for the team," Toni said.
Bresciano was one of the players Toni spoke to before agreeing to a one-year deal with Nasr. He also had a talk with his captain from the 2006 World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro, who played for Al Ahli last season before calling time on his career.
He said the deal-clinchers, however, were the presence of Zenga, the former Italy and Inter Milan goalkeeper, and the need for a new challenge.
Toni said: "Bresciano and Cannavaro told me, 'You should come here. Some people think it is easy, but it is not.'
"I liked that and I wanted to come here and give it a try. On the world map, the level of football in the UAE is not that high, but football is difficult everywhere.
"I wanted to come here because Zenga called me. For me, it is very important that the manager called me and said, 'You have to come, you have to come, we have to try to win.'
"Then, I also love challenges. I want to try to win something here."
Toni is the second World Cup winner and former Juventus forward to arrive in the Pro League this season. The first, David Trezeguet, soon opted out of his contract with Baniyas. The Italian, however, has promised he is here for a longer stay.
"I am here to play for one year," he said. "After that, if the team is happy and I am happy, we continue; if the team is not happy with me or I am not happy here, I pack my bags.
"But I am here for one year, I want to win trophies and score goals."
Tips%20for%20travelling%20while%20needing%20dialysis
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EInform%20your%20doctor%20about%20your%20plans.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAsk%20about%20your%20treatment%20so%20you%20know%20how%20it%20works.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPay%20attention%20to%20your%20health%20if%20you%20travel%20to%20a%20hot%20destination.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPlan%20your%20trip%20well.%C2%A0%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.”
