For Eric Gerets, the latest international break could not have come at a worse time.
On Sunday night, Al Jazira's coach saw his side defeat Al Ain 4-3 in arguablyone of the best games of the Arabian Gulf League to date this season, but he has been left unable to build on that momentum for two weeks.
At the start of the season the Abu Dhabi club were a popular pick with pundits as a dark horse for the Arabian Gulf League title, and the signing of striker Mirko Vucinic from Juventus looked to be one of the shrewdest of the summer.
If there were doubts over either notion, they were blown away with a storm of attacking football at Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Sunday.
Vucinic was simply irrepressible, scoring four goals – two headers, a penalty and a powerful left-foot strike – to take his season tally to 10 goals in just five games.
Just as encouraging for Gerets was his team’s resilience in coming from behind to take the points.
In their previous match at Al Dhafra, Al Jazira were seconds away from going to the top of the league, when, at 3-2 up, they inexplicably piled forward in search of a fourth goal.
Instead, an injury-time equaliser left Gerets fuming and his team in third place.
Against Al Ain, they completed the job.
With the league programme set to resume on October 17, Al Jazira have to split facing the season’s two early pace setters, Al Wahda and Al Shabab, who also clashed on Sunday, with the Abu Dhabi club coming out on top 2-1.
With respect to those two clubs, Gerets will be more pleased that his team has a three-point lead over Al Ahli and is five points clear of Al Ain, although Al Ain have two games in hand.
Whether they can maintain a title challenge could be answered in their next fixture – an away trip to champions Ahli.
In many ways, it will be the ideal time to face Cosmin Olaroiu’s men. The Dubai club have yet to win at Maktoum Stadium this season, losing 4-2 to Shabab before playing out a dismal 0-0 draw with Ajman two weeks ago.
Sunday’s tame 1-1 draw at Fujairah hardly points at any improvement in form.
Having beaten Al Ain so spectacularly, a win against Al Ahli will be a statement of intent for Gerets’s men.
In Vucinic, Al Jazira have found the perfect replacement for the prolific Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira.
The Montenegrin’s pedigree is unquestioned; he won three league titles at Juventus and two Italian Cup medals with Roma.
At 31, his impact could rival that of Grafite at Al Ahli and Asamoah Gyan at Al Ain in recent times.
With Jucilei da Silva of Brazil, Argentinian Manuel Lanzini and Burkina Faso striker Jonathan Pitroipa completing their foreign contingent, Al Jazira look well-equipped to return to the standard that saw them win their first league title in 2011/12, as well as two President’s Cups in 2011 and 2012.
The seeds of this season’s re-emergence came last season. A third-place finish means they likely will take part in the 2015 Asian Champions League.
The club can also call on a strong core of UAE internationals, such as Ali Kasheif, Khamis Esmail and Ali Mabkhout – all of whom will be part of Mahdi Ali’s squad for the international doubleheader against Australia and Uzbekistan.
For once, even they will be itching to finish their duties with their beloved national team and return to the business of winning the AGL title. So will, no doubt, the flying Vucinic.
akhaled@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
The specs: 2019 Lincoln MKC
Price, base / as tested: Dh169,995 / Dh192,045
Engine: Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 253hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 389Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.7L / 100km
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
AWARDS
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
