Ivan Hasek is returning to the scene of "the most beautiful years of my life" after he was yesterday appointed the coach of Al Ahli for the second time.
The Czech, who guided Ahli to the President’s Cup in 2008 and the inaugural Pro League title the following season, stepped down from his post as chairman of the Czech Football Federation on Sunday before announcing his move to the Dubai club.
“I am returning where I belong, to the coach’s profession,” Hasek was quoted as saying on a Czech website after tendering his resignation at the end of the federatzion’s general assembly.
“I will go to the place that I left two years ago, to Al Ahli.”
As revealed in The National on June 12, Ahli decided on Hasek as their first-choice candidate before the end of last season. He was in Dubai to watch the club's last match of 2010/11 and discuss personal terms. Ahli, however, chose to delay announcing his appointment – on a two-year deal – until yesterday.
Hasek, 47, spent one and half years at Ahli during his first spell, and also won the 2009 Super Cup before returning home to contest the elections for the Czech Football Federation presidency.
“I would have loved to continue with Ahli for another season at least, if not longer,” he said at the time of his departure. “The one and a half years I have spent here are the most beautiful of my life.
“But after one and a half years here, I think it is better to leave. Sometimes a change is good for the team and can increase the benefits.”
The changes, however, did not work for Ahli and they have struggled in the past two seasons, finishing eighth both times.
They have been through a coaching carousel during this period, with six different managers in the dugout. The last of them was the high-profile appointment of David O'Leary, the former Aston Villa and Leeds United manager, who was dismissed in April after just nine months in charge.
Ahli hope the return of Hasek, who captained his national team at the 1990 World Cup, will spark a turnaround in fortunes.
“Hasek has worked here before and was very successful with the team,” said Ahmed Khalifa, Ahli’s chief executive. “So he is the best man to lead the club in the new season.
“He is a big name and has a lot of experience, especially of UAE football. We had a very good relationship with him when he was here and that makes him a natural choice.
“Of course, we understand he cannot turn things around in one day and we will support him in everything.”
The former Sparta Prague and Strasbourg manager is expected to start work in the first week of July and one of his first decisions could be regarding the futures of Fabio Cannavaro, the 37-year-old Italian centre-back, and Pinga, the Brazilian forward.
Ahli have already signed two foreign players – the Brazilian strikers Grafite and Jaja Coelho – meaning there is room for only one of their two foreign players from last season under Pro League rules.
Ahli’s two summer signings mean Hasek will also have a decision to make regarding his strike force. Pinga was the club’s top scorer last season while Ahmed Khalil, the UAE forward, is also on Ahli’s books along with his brother Faisal, also an international.
Meanwhile, Jean Manuel Olivera could be Diego Maradona's first foreign signing at Al Wasl.
The club have opened negotiations with the 29-year-old Uruguayan striker, who is currently playing for Penarol in Uruguay.
Olivera played alongside Edson Puch at Universidad de Chile last year and was the top scorer in the league. Puch, the Chile international, signed a four-year deal with Wasl before Maradona's arrival.
According to club sources, Francisco Yeste, the Spaniard who was one of the best players in the league last season, is likely to continue with the club for next season and Mohammed al Shaibah, the Omani international who has two years remaining on his contract, could also be retained given the three-plus-one quota.
Wasl have also started negotiations with Al Wahda for their striker Saeed Al Kathiri and if the deal goes through, he will be their fourth local signing after Hamad Al Hosani, Ali Rabeah and Mubarak Hassan.
They have also brought in Fahad Masoud on a loan from Wahda.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
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
The%20Beekeeper
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
