Nabil Fekir is a young man in demand. The 21-year-old, perhaps the revelation of a French season that could yet come to a thrilling climax as his Lyon chase champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table, is being explicitly courted by PSG. For much of the past year, he has also been the subject of a tug-of-war between two national teams.
Cockerel or Desert Fox?
Fekir was born in France, in the Lyon area, the son of an Algerian, Mohammed Fekir, who emigrated to Europe in 1992. His father made it clear, as Nabil’s talent took him on a fast-track to the professional game, that he would like his son to represent Algeria, the so-called Desert Foxes, internationally. But there was a dilemma. France, the Cockerels, hosts of the next European championship, want him too.
Controversy and conflict
In March, Christian Courcuff, the head coach of Algeria — a Frenchman — reported that Fekir had told him, after a series of meetings, he had opted to play for Algeria. Not so, said Fekir, who, having spoken about the “complicated” choice, then declared he would be opting for the nation of his birth. He had also changed agents to be represented by the same agent who acts for Didier Deschamps, the France head coach. Deschamps gave him his international debut at the end of March. There was disappointment and some anger in Algeria.
In the footsteps of Benzema
The issue was in danger of overshadowing Fekir’s brilliance on the field for a dynamic Lyon, for who Fekir, who has a charmed left foot and a wide range of tricks on the ball, has scored 12 goals this season, dovetailing effectively with prolific striker Alexandre Lacazette. He operates just off the centre-forward, a No 10, and has been compared with fellow French-Algerian Karim Benzema, another who grew up at Lyon, and with the skilful Hatem Ben Arfa, who also played for Lyon and France before his career lost its way. “He reminds me of Ben Arfa,” said Real Madrid’s Benzema, “who I saw do some unbelievable things with the ball.”
Predatory PSG
Benzema, speaking at the time of Fekir’s first France call-up, added that he thought Ben Arfa had left Lyon — to join Marseille — too young. A hint to Fekir? Perhaps. There is no shortage of other clubs interested in signing him, and soon. Last week, PSG coach Laurent Blanc spoke about how much he admired Lacazette and Fekir. “Saying that now is an obvious attempt to destabilise us,” snarled Lyon coach, Hubert Fournier, who needs his talented front men fully focused on the championship run-in.
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
