MADRID // There could hardly be more contrasting teams in the Copa del Rey final.
Alaves, the recently promoted club from Basque Country, will be playing in the final of a major tournament only for the second time in their 96-year history. Barcelona, on the other hand, will be making their 39th appearance in the domestic competition’s final.
Barcelona have won virtually every possible title in the competitions they have played. Alaves’ only winner’s trophy is for Spain’s second division.
In the final on May 27, Barcelona will field a team that includes Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar. Alaves’ top forward is Deyverson, a Brazilian barely known even in his native country.
“This was unthinkable in the beginning of the season,” Alaves coach Mauricio Pellegrino said after the team’s 1-0 home win over Celta Vigo in Wednesday’s second leg of the semi-finals. “We’ll be mobilised for this final.”
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The only other time Alaves enjoyed this kind of success was 16 years ago when they reached the final of the Uefa Cup, the competition now known as the Europa League. They got agonisingly close to the title at the time, losing 5-4 to Liverpool in extra time in a thriller in Dortmund.
They have mostly struggled since then, spending several years out of Spain’s top division. The club, founded in 1921, was promoted to the Primera Liga this season after 10 years in the lower divisions, including four in the third tier.
“After 96 years, to reach the Copa final for the first time, there will be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ this achievement,” Alaves president Alfonso Fernandez de Troconiz said. “It’s been an amazing season.”
Barcelona, meanwhile, have been in the Copa del Rey final in seven of the last nine seasons, including the last four. They have won Spain’s second-most important club competition a record 28 times, including the last two.
But despite the lopsided match-up, there’s reason to believe in a historic result in the final.
Alaves stunned Barcelona 2-1 in the league earlier this season, handing the Catalan club their only home loss with goals by Deyverson and Ibai Gomez.
The clubs will meet again in the league on Saturday in the Basque Country in a preview of the Copa final. Barcelona is second in the league with 45 points, 18 more than 12th-place Alaves.
Before the league loss this season, Barcelona had won five straight games between the two sides, including four in the Copa del Rey. They won both games in the last 16 in 2007, and then cruised to a 6-1 aggregate win in the early rounds in 2012.
Barcelona have yet to lose a Copa del Rey home-and-away series since coach Luis Enrique took over in 2014, a run of 12 straight triumphs.
They made it to this year's final by eliminating Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid — the latter one in the semi-finals. Alaves got past Deportivo La Coruna, second-division club Alcorcon and Celta Vigo, which had eliminated Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Barcelona is already certain to be without defender Sergi Roberto and striker Luis Suarez, who were sent off in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Atletico at Camp Nou.
The venue for the final has yet to be determined, although it will likely be played in Madrid.
Last season, officials wanted Barcelona and Sevilla to play the decider at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, but a Bruce Springsteen concert was scheduled for the venue and the Madrid club avoided having its biggest rival celebrating a title on its grounds. The final was eventually played at Atletico’s Vicente Calderon Stadium.
* Associated Press
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
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Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
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His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
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Launch year: 2018
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
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4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
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5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
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8. Pillar 2 implementation
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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.
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* Agence France Presse
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