Fabio Capello was an avid student of English football during his successful career as a club manager but the experienced Italian admitted shortly after accepting the challenge of revitalising the England international team that he underestimated the importance of the captain's armband.
Four different captains in four friendly matches so far - five if you count Gareth Barry taking over from David Beckham in the last of those games in Trinidad and Tobago - was a strong declaration that Capello was not going to be rushed or bullied into naming his team's permanent leader.
Yesterday was the time to make the decision that might have a crucial bearing on England's chances of securing a safe passage to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Again Capello proved he is his own man by going against the wishes of the majority of the British media. John Terry, not the press favourite Rio Ferdinand, is the man saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that Capello's instructions are carried out on the field. The powerful Chelsea skipper was the choice of Capello's ill-fated predecessor Steve McClaren but appeared to be slipping behind his Manchester United rival for Capello's vote.
Capello revealed that it was the "big" personality of Terry which tipped the balance in his favour and away from Ferdinand, the new vice-captain who tends to go about his business in a less demonstrative way. "It was not easy for me to choose because they are very good players," said the head coach. "I have chosen John but Rio is still very important to the team." Terry, who wins his 45th international cap in the Wembley friendly against the Czech Republic, will now seek to deploy his inspirational skills to guide England through the difficult Group Six fixtures against Croatia, the nation primarily responsible for the demise of McClaren last year, and Ukraine.
Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra make up the group but if Terry and his teammates cannot find a way past those international minnows then Capello, who forged his reputation bringing silverware to AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid, might as well go into premature retirement.
Retirement will indeed come early if Capello, who is under contract until the World Cup finals but is budgeting for a further two years, fails to deliver the goods. The new international season begins at Wembley with one of the tougher friendlies on offer against the Czech Republic - a warm-up for the key clash in Croatia next month which comes four days after the group opener away to Andorra. Capello knows his own honeymoon period is over now. "We have to work and play every game like a final," he said. "We need to concentrate on qualifying for the World Cup and we have got the squad to do that. We just need to do it on the pitch."
@Email:wjohnson@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
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KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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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
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
GRAN%20TURISMO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
