The Al Ain coach talks to John McAuley about their impending Asian Champions League quarter-final with Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and preparations for the new Arabian Gulf League season.
1 – Asian Champions League
“The most important thing now is to reach the semi-final of the Champions League and we start the season with two big matches,” he said. “We know well that we are asked to double our efforts and complete what we started last season and as one team, we will work to have the best season possible.”
2 – Familiar foes
“I know Ittihad well, as I played them four times when I was Al Hilal coach. They are a big team and I expect a big match from both sides but I trust my players to reach the semi-final with them. The work in the camp was great and we achieved our targets from it.”
3 – Squad changes
“[We hoped] to get skilful and fast players as we aim to play at a faster rhythm next season. Rashid Essa is excellent, but needs time, and Mohammed Fawzy is a skilled player. Jires Kembo-Ekoko and Miroslav Stoch are fast and so could quickly get used to our style.”
4 – Returning star
On bringing back Kembo-Ekoko to the team: “There are three reasons: I know his value on the pitch; the extraordinary level he showed last season at El Jaish [he was loaned to the Qatari side in 2013/14]; he already knows the team very well.”
5 – Leader on the pitch
On the importance of Hilal Saeed, the veteran midfielder: “He is a great player and an example to the others. I sometimes need a coach on the pitch – he has the respect of his colleagues and has all the traits of a leader.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
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Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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:
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- Sheikha Mahra and Sheikha Sabha recall their time spent in Al Hosn
- A place where problems were solved
- How the fort's rise tracked Abu Dhabi's development
- Meet Frauke Heard-Bey - the fort's historian for 30 years
- In Pictures: Story of a fort
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What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
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