Bolton Wanderers were already 4-1 up against Newcastle United last Saturday when they introduced 19-year-old Rodrigo Moreno as an 86th-minute substitute.
His seven minutes on the pitch were insufficient to earn him a rating in the following day's newspapers, but the pacey left-sided attacker made a tangible difference, winning an injury-time penalty which Kevin Davies converted to conclude one of the more surprising results this season.
Though he is yet to start a Premier League game, it was not the first time that Moreno has come from the bench to make an impact.
Introduced against Bolton's neighbours Wigan Athletic recently, he troubled the Latics by driving in from the right and was regularly picked out by fellow substitute Matt Taylor.
Moreno was unlucky not to score with his first touch, a volley on the diagonal which Chris Kirkland, the Wigan keeper, was grateful to gobble up.
Then, from exactly the same type of ball, he was incorrectly given offside when clean through.
Moreno added a cutting edge to an attack which appeared blunt before Owen Coyle took over as Bolton manager earlier this year.
"He is 19 years old, can play anywhere across the forward line, as a main striker or behind, and he can play in the wide areas", Coyle said.
"He's quick and exciting" Sandy Stewart, the assistant manager, added.
Johan Elmander, the Premier League's joint second top scorer with eight goals, Gary Cahill, Davies and coach Coyle may be the star names who propelled Bolton into the Premier League's top five, but much is expected of Moreno, the Brazilian-born Spanish Under 19 international. Given his pedigree, you begin to understand why.
Moreno was a Real Madrid player until he moved to Benfica on a five-year deal in July, as part of the Angel Di Maria transfer. The Lisbon giants sent him on loan to gain Premier League experience, but Bolton were chasing him long before he moved to Portugal.
Bolton Wanderers and Real Madrid may seem like an unlikely pairing, but they enjoy solid relations following past deals involving Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo.
Both were coming to the end of their careers, while Moreno is an emerging star whom Real were reluctant to let go for less than €5 million (Dh25m).
That was too much for the Lancashire club, who have to cut costs, but long-time admirer Coyle, doggedly pursued Moreno.
The Scot finally got his man on a one-year loan deal, on August's transfer deadline day, by persuading him to join up with his former Real teammate Marcos Alonso, 19, the left-back who signed for £2m (Dh11.7m) a month earlier.
He too, was highly rated by the Spanish giants, who have retained a €5m buy-back clause.
Other factors helped Coyle. With a surfeit of attackers from one of the best youth systems in world football, Benfica were happy to let Moreno move and, with Coyle and his former teammate from Real's reserves enticing him to England, he eventually relented.
"Without a doubt, the conversations I had with Marcos had some influence on me coming here," Moreno said. "He spoke a lot about the club, the management, and the way people are and that was important for me. I want to repay the trust Bolton have shown in me and do my best to show my qualities."
It was a busy summer for Moreno. In July he played for Spain's Under 19s in the European Championships and scored the only goal for La Rojita - the "Little Reds" as opposed to world champions La Roja - in their 2-1 final defeat by France.
Coyle was delighted to get his man, if only for a season.
"We've been pleased with him, and we have to continue with that progress," Coyle said. "That involves hard work and when more chances come about hopefully he'll have that cutting edge to take them."
Bolton are aiming high for a top-six finish this season.
With their strikers performing so well and Moreno adding another dynamic option, they have an excellent chance.
sports@thenational.ae
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
