Xerez may, statistically at least, be the worst club in top-level European football so far this season, but you will struggle to find evidence of a downbeat mood at the club from close to Spain's south west border with Portugal.
The promoted Andalusians are playing in the Primera Liga for the first time in their 62-year history after winning last season's second division.
They have lost all four games, conceding 11 and failing to score a single goal - apart from two own goals.
Xerez have not played badly and they have been unlucky. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-minute goal against them, but a Real Madrid side whose annual budget of ?420 million (Dh2.2 billion) dwarfs Xerez's ?9m could not get another for 75 minutes. It was Xerez's obdurate English style, expected of Bolton or Blackburn, which troubled Real.
Xerez look doomed for reasons other than their performances, but you would not guess it clicking on to their official website. There, the giggling players greet you by saying hello.
A match report jokingly blames their bad form on witches putting a spell on them. And in the stands, Xerez's cheery supporters can lay claim to being the most impressive in Spain so far this season.
Despite the poor start and their status as clear favourites to be relegated, Xerez sold 16,000 season tickets for their 20,000 capacity Chapin stadium. Running tracks are usually derided in football stadiums, but it does have some justification at the Chapin: home city athletics club Jerez have been Spanish champions seven times this decade.
Like their fellow Andalusians from Cadiz two years ago, they seem intent on enjoying every minute in the top flight, even if they fall short of the 13 points won by Sporting Gijon over a season in 1997/98. More than 7,000 of them travelled to the Bernabeu and outsang the 72,000 home fans to the point of shaming them.
They sang about drinking - no surprise given that the main industry in Jerez is the export of wine and sherry (which originates and takes it names from Jerez). Fewer will make the journey to Barcelona today, where Xerez play an Espanyol side going for a third win in a row, but then it is a 15-hour road journey from south west Spain to the north east.
Still, they have already sold more tickets than Real did two weeks ago, with support expected from the strong expatriate community in Catalonia.
Xerez's problems extend beyond the playing field. In the spring, just as their promotion push was reaching a peak, the Xerez president was involved in a drive-by shooting at a brothel.
Forced to resign, the club owner, Joaquin Morales, unconvincingly claimed that it was the sort of thing which could happen to anyone. Morales wants to sell the club - in fact he did not want promotion in the first place. At the start of last season, Xerez cut their wage bill and were content to consolidate their 14th-place finish the season before.
Their team was made up of loan players, yet the coach, Esteban Vigo, defied the odds and won the title. Rather than looking forward to a season in the Primera Liga, he fell out with Morales and was dismissed. Thirteen of the mostly loaned players left Xerez and the new coach, Jose Angel Ziganda, took over with just 12 footballers to work with. Given that the Spanish second division does not finish until June, he had little time to dip into a contact book developed over six years coaching at various levels at Osasuna.
New players were signed, but none for a transfer fee. Instead, Xerez's loan players arrived such as goalkeeper Renan, from Valencia, Victor Sanchez, from Barcelona, and David Preito, from Sevilla; promising talents rather than wily old performers. There is a slight hope for Xerez. Promoted Sporting Gijon lost their first five matches last season but stayed up.
Ziganda, despite admitting last week that his players "are scared", remains upbeat.
"We just need that first point," he said. "This team is still new. It is still growing, but has many good characteristics and we are good enough to beat Espanyol. We have to have the confidence to attack and get a little luck. We're due that."
Few would argue that their luck must surely turn soon, but whether this is enough for long term safety is doubtful.
amitten@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
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MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: AF Senad, Nathan Crosse (jockey), Kareem Ramadan (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ashjaan, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Amirah, Conner Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yaasoob, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Manhunter, Ryan Curatolo, Mujeeb Rahman.
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
HWJN
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