AL AIN // Al Ain are confident Miroslav Stoch will play a key role in their 2014/15 Arabian Gulf League title bid after bringing the Slovakian international in on a one-year loan deal.
Al Ain on Saturday completed the deal for Stoch, who has signed from the Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce. He is Al Ain’s third summer arrival after the Korean Lee Myong-joo – who was signed for US$5 million (Dh18.3m) from Pohang Steelers – and Rashid Essa, the Al Wasl midfielder who is also on a one-year loan deal.
Stoch, 24, completed the medical yesterday morning and joined his new team in the evening before heading to Italy for the two-week camp.
The training camp was originally scheduled to be in Turkey but was shifted because of wet weather.
“Many clubs wanted him [Stoch] after the news of our negotiation with Fenerbahce reached the ears of other parties, but we managed to complete the deal without leaving room for any interference,” said Mohammed Obaid Hammad, the Al Ain team supervisor.
“The club management is confident Miroslav will fit in well in our line-up and play a key role for us in the coming season. He is young, very talented and has lots of experience behind him.”
Stoch joins the AGL club after completing another one-year loan spell at the Greek club PAOK last season. He joined Fenerbahce on a four-year deal in 2010.
The Slovakian winger began his career at local club academy Nitra in 2005, where he was included in the first team after scoring a hat-trick in an Under-17 match when he was 15.
He moved to the youth academy of English Premier League side Chelsea in 2008 but only made five first-team appearances.
He was loaned to FC Twente in July 2009 before his move to Fenerbahce for the 2010/2011 season. Stoch also has 42 international caps for Slovakia.
Al Ain have recalled Jires Kembo-Ekoko, the Congolese-born French forward, after he served a one-year loan spell at the Qatari club El Jaish.
Asamoah Gyan, the Ghana captain, is the only foreign player retained by Al Ain after their disappointing sixth-placed finish in the league last season.
The club did not renew the contracts of the Moroccan international Yassine El Ghanassy, Mirel Radoi, the Romanian midfielder, and their Asian player, Alex Brosque from Australia.
They still also own Brazilian winger Michel Bastos, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Roma in Italy.
Al Ain have handed contract extensions to the Abdulrahman brothers, Mohammed and Khalid, in the form of three-year deals until 2017.
The President’s Cup winners are preparing for the Asian Champions League quarter-finals against Saudi Arabia powerhouse Al Ittihad, who they meet over two legs on August 19 and the away game a week later.
Al Ain will return from Italy and play in a three-team friendly tournament against Al Nasr of Saudi Arabia and Al Kuwait of Kuwait in the last week of the Ramadan.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3E%0DThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Addis%20Ababa%20with%20Ethiopian%20Airlines%20with%20return%20fares%20from%20Dh1%2C700.%20Nashulai%20Journeys%20offers%20tailormade%20and%20ready%20made%20trips%20in%20Africa%20while%20Tesfa%20Tours%20has%20a%20number%20of%20different%20community%20trekking%20tours%20throughout%20northern%20Ethiopia.%20%20The%20Ben%20Abeba%20Lodge%20has%20rooms%20from%20Dh228%2C%20and%20champions%20a%20programme%20of%20re-forestation%20in%20the%20surrounding%20area.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
