Four minutes can seem a long time in a football match, although it is probably best not to emphasise that too loudly within earshot of Francesco Totti, the Roma captain.
Totti's outburst at having been introduced as a substitute with barely 240 seconds remaining of Roma's defeat at Sampdoria nine days ago left his club, and his relationship with Claudio Ranieri, the coach, simmering ahead of Sunday's trip to Cesena, where tension became contagious.
Four minutes, though, was plenty of time for Javier Zanetti to be applauded on reaching his latest milestone as an Inter Milan player. When Zanetti was substituted four minutes before the final whistle, Inter were 4-1 up against Bologna.
The switch, made by Leonardo, was simply so the Inter captain, 37, could receive a standing ovation at San Siro for setting a new club record: the game was his 519th in Serie A for the Nerazzurri.
Zanetti performed with his usual energy and discipline for his 86 minutes on the right of midfield, and, as ever, left the field with his neat haircut unruffled and the appearance of a man who would happily take on another 90 minutes .
Totti, 34, got a full 90 minutes at Cesena, and would be reminded of what Ranieri had been obliged to repeat all of the previous week, that "matches can be decided with one act, very late on". Ranieri had to say so because of the gripes made by Totti about the fact that, in the 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria, he had been asked to enter the action so very late.
"So now the game starts," Totti said, loud enough so a nosey microphone could pick up the comment when he had come on at Samp. At Cesena, Roma scored the only goal of the game in the very last minute; for a grateful Ranieri, there was the double satisfaction that it came thanks largely to the efforts of two late substitutes.
After Marco Borriello hit the crossbar, Adriano reacted to force a save and in the subsequent melee Max Pellegrino diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper.
By then, a new controversy was waiting for Ranieri: Mirko Vucinic had reacted angrily to giving way for Adriano. Such protests are becoming a trademark at Roma. As club captain, Totti might wish to remind Vucinic that sort of behaviour can be bad for morale. It would be hard for him to do so, given his own display of petulance seven days earlier.
It was a big weekend for veterans like Zanetti, Totti and indeed Alessandro Del Piero, 36, the Juventus captain who galvanised a weakened line-up and scored the first goal in a 2-1 win over Bari that lifts Juve to fifth in the table, a point below Totti's Roma and two above Zanetti's Inter.
Zanetti, Totti and Del Piero are distinct sorts of leaders. They are emblems for their clubs, to be admired for their fidelity. Del Piero has been with Juve since 1993; Totti made his Roma debut 18 seasons ago. Zanetti joined Inter in the summer of 1995, fresh from his native Argentina.
All three men have endured frustrating periods, Del Piero with injuries and Juve's 2006 relegation, Zanetti over the 12 seasons before his Inter finally won a scudetto, Totti through the six seasons when Roma finished runners-up.
Zanetti has survived umpteen changes of coach. Totti, more confrontational and politically powerful within his club, has seen several sackings too, as has Del Piero, who is never happy as a substitute - which is often, these days - but conceals his ire better than Totti.
The Roma captain's relationship with Ranieri will endure more and ups and downs. Zanetti's understanding with Leonardo, Inter's new coach, has started well. He will have appreciated the fact Leonardo withdrew him four minutes early. It allowed the Interisti to applaud a very fine servant of the club.
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Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
Bob Marley: One Love
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton
Rating: 2/5
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
The view from The National
The Iron Claw
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany, Lily James
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Sideup
Started: 2019
Founder: Waleed Rashed
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, e-commerce
Funds raised so far: $1.2 million
Investors: Launch Africa VC, 500 Global, Riyadh Angels, Alex Angels, Al Tuwaijri Fund and Saudi angel investor Faisal Al Abdulsalam
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
RESULTS
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Mubhir Al Ain, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Exciting Days, Oscar Chavez, Doug Watson
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Suny Du Loup, Marcelino Rodrigues, Hamad Al Marar
10.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Jafar Des Arnets, Oscar Chavez, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
11pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Taj Al Izz, Richard Mullen, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
11.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Majdy, Antonio Fresu, Jean de Roualle
12am: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Hamloola, Sam Hitchcott, Salem Al Ketbi
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 680hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm at 2,750-6,000rpm
Transmission: Rear-mounted eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 13.6L/100km
On sale: Orderbook open; deliveries start end of year
Price: From Dh970,000