If you think Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez have problems, spare a thought for Al Jazira's new coach Luis Milla, who has hardly had time to settle in to his office before doubts over his future in Abu Dhabi have started to surfaced.
Tonight, Jazira host Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia in their second Group A game of the 2013 Asian Champions League, and already Milla, in only his fourth game in charge of the Abu Dhabi club, is at a crossroads. Still to win a game since joining, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder, and Spain Olympic team coach, knows tonight's match is one he dare not lose.
In many ways, the intense scrutiny he finds himself under is not of his own doing.
On February 21, Jazira dismissed his stunned predecessor, Paulo Bonamigo, who had just seen his players extend their league unbeaten run to 12 matches with a 4-1 victory over Al Dhafra. Jazira were second in the table, just six points behind Al Ain.
Milla's first task could not have been more daunting: a trip to Iran, for a Champions League group match, against Tractor Sazi Tabriz. Not surprisingly, inside a packed stadium, and in a hostile atmosphere, Jazira suffered a 3-1 defeat.
A subsequent 1-0 loss to the UAE champions Al Ain and 3-3 draw with second-from-bottom Dibba, have left Jazira trailing the title holders and leaders by 11 points, in fourth place, their hopes of challenging for the championship all but gone.
No manager deserves to be judged over such a short period and, in retrospect, Jazira were always facing long odds, on the road in Iran and Al Ain. Moreover, the team's poor run is further proof of the instability and confusion that constant chopping and changing of managers inevitably brings to a club.
In the past 10 years, only one coach, the Brazilian Abel Braga, between 2008 and 2011, has managed to stay in the Jazira hot seat for more than one season.
Not surprisingly, his reign coincided with the most successful period in the club's history, winning the Pro League title, the President's Cup and the Etisalat Cup. Whether he lasted so long because he was successful, or successful because he lasted so long, is almost immaterial; the correlation between stability and success is undeniable.
Certainly, Jazira are not alone in this aspect; Al Wasl's troubles this season have stemmed from the appointment of four managers since Diego Maradona was shown the door last summer.
And while the departure of Bruno Metsu was due, sadly, to illness, the continued turmoil at the club since then led on Sunday to the resignation of the entire board of directors, with the club struggling in ninth place.
The list of managerial dismissals at Jazira and Wasl are echoed at practically every other club in the league. Astonishingly, since the inception of the UAE Pro League five years ago, only a handful of managers have survived for two years in their roles and only Braga survived for three full seasons.
Clubs may point to the fact that the Emirati league season is, at 26 games per team as of this season, and 22 previously, a relatively short one and losing sequences must be dealt with more urgently.
In other countries, however, there have been numerous examples of coaches achieving success after being given adequate time to shape their team and tactics.
Here, the UAE national team seems to be providing a new and enlightening path towards stability and success.
And the blueprint seems simple enough: devise a long-term plan, give coaches time to implement it and, when the time comes for change, promote from within.
Over the past year in particular, the results have been spectacular.
Having failed to retain a single coach for more than a two-year stretch in the previous two decades, the UAE's decision to hire the Emirati coach Mahdi Ali has already resulted in Gulf Cup success in January.
And the signs are that the team's young nucleus, most of whom for years had worked under the same management team in age-group competitions, is ready to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia before the serious challenge of reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia begins.
Club football is a different beast. Still, it is hoped Emirati clubs someday will appreciate the value of sticking with their man.
For now, it is too early to judge Milla, or indeed Jazira's decision to appoint him, regardless of the result against the Saudi team.
And if snap judgements in the past have only served to put pressure on managers when results do not improve immediately, then surely a few high-profile wins should buy them time as well.
Milla certainly will be hoping that is the case come the 7.30pm kick-off time at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium tonight.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.”
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.”
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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