Al Ain are in no hurry to appoint a new coach until after their next league game against Al Dhafra on Friday.
Ahmed Abdullah, the interim coach, will oversee their preparation after the Emirati got them off the mark in his second game in charge with a 2-1 home win over Ajman last week.
“The club is in talks with several candidates for the vacant coaching position, but nothing will be finalised until after the next game,” a club official said yesterday.
“We want the players to just focus on the upcoming match. The league takes a break after this game and that’s the time the club management would take the new coaching appointment forward.”
Quique Sanchez Flores, the Spaniard who led Al Ahli to the President’s Cup and a second-place finish in the league last season, is thought to be one of the leading candidates.
The club also have been in talks with Eric Gerets, the experienced Belgian who has managed PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Marseille.
Meanwhile, Luis Milla, the Al Jazira coach, has been given a vote of confidence by the Abu Dhabi club after their second defeat in four games, both in the Arabian Gulf League and the League Cup.
“There will be no change. We have full faith in him that he would deliver for us this season,” Mohammed Al Hameli, a member of the club’s board of directors, said.
Jazira were reduced to nine men as they went down 3-2 to Al Wasl at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday night, with both Shin Yung-min and Nelson Valdez drawing red cards.
Both will be suspended for Jazira’s trip to Al Shabab on Thursday, but Milla expects his side to cope.
“We will not face any problem in forming a strong line-up for the next match, because we have good players in the squad to fill up the vacant positions in the line-up,” said the Spaniard. “What is important for me is the team and not the names. If we can play at the same level as we played against Wasl, we can return with three points against Shabab.”
Dubai, meanwhile, have confirmed Syrian international Jehad Al Hussain as their Asian player.
The Al Awir club had initially signed the attacking midfielder, 31, during the summer, but the deal ran into trouble after his former employers, Saudi club Najran, demanded that Dubai pay the US$900,000 (Dh3.3 million) penalty clause for the player’s release.
But an agreement has now been reached.
“It’s all sorted,” a club spokesman said.
Dubai have also made another change, replacing Brazilian striker Andre Alves with Malian striker Dramane Traore, who scored on his debut in the 3-2 win at Emirates on Friday. Alves appeared in two League Cup and a league match for Dubai, but failed to impress coach Martin Rueda.
Al Wahda have lodged a protest against Al Ahli for playing an ineligible player in their 2-1 defeat on Friday. Adnan Hussain, who was serving a suspension in the reserve team league, came on as a second-half substitute and Wahda want the three points forfeited from Ahli and given to them instead.
sports@thenational.ae
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
