Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano will line up against a friend turned rival in the Champions League final on Saturday as compatriot Carlos Tevez attempts to fire Juventus to their first European Cup in 19 years.
Mascherano and Tevez moved to Europe together to join English side West Ham United from Corinthians in 2006.
After an inauspicious start at Upton Park, both went onto enjoy successful careers in England as Mascherano joined Liverpool before moving to Barcelona in 2010, while Tevez won Premier League titles with Manchester United and Manchester City.
However, it is at Juventus where Tevez has shown his best form in European football.
The 31-year-old has scored 29 goals this season to guide Juventus to the brink of their first ever treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) and Champions League.
“Carlos’s career is there for everyone to see. It is formidable,” said Mascherano.
“He is one of the best players I have ever shared a pitch with and has an incredible winning mentality.
“He has left a mark at all the teams he has played with. Obviously, if you are faced with playing him you have to be very careful.
“He is a player that likes to play these type of games and clearly is one of the most important players in the Juventus team.”
At the other end of the field the clash between the Spanish and Italian champions brings Luis Suarez face-to-face with old foes Patrice Evra and Giorgio Chiellini.
Suarez was banned for eight matches after being found guilty of racially abusing Evra in 2011 during their time at Liverpool and Manchester United respectively.
The fiery Uruguayan then received a four-month ban for biting Chiellini at last summer’s World Cup.
However, Mascherano believes Suarez has shown this season he has the right temperament to concentrate solely on winning the Champions League for the first time.
“For Luis that is already in the past,” added Mascherano.
“It is a special game for him because it is his first Champions League final and these games are special, but not because of the players he will face.
“Luis is of an age now and has shown that we don’t need to say anything. He is responsible for his actions.”
Mascherano has already tasted victory in a Champions League final during his first season at Barca, but also lost one while at Liverpool in 2007.
However, he insisted that even winning the treble would not wipe away the pain of losing the World Cup final to Germany in extra time last July despite his heroics throughout the tournament.
“The worst feeling is to lose a World Cup final.
“Apart from that the feeling of winning any title is very gratifying because it is the reward of all the work done during the year.
“The Champions League has that feeling but also an added prestige. As a footballer that prestige is also something that we play for.”
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What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Central Bank's push for a robust financial infrastructure
- CBDC real-value pilot held with three partner institutions
- Preparing buy now, pay later regulations
- Preparing for the 2023 launch of the domestic card initiative
- Phase one of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FiT) completed
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company name: Tuhoon
Year started: June 2021
Co-founders: Fares Ghandour, Dr Naif Almutawa, Aymane Sennoussi
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Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
3 Body Problem
Creators: David Benioff, D B Weiss, Alexander Woo
Starring: Benedict Wong, Jess Hong, Jovan Adepo, Eiza Gonzalez, John Bradley, Alex Sharp
Rating: 3/5
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Consoles: PC, PlayStation
Rating: 2/5
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
