Cosmin Olaroiu has called for cool heads in Tuesday night’s Asian Champions League semi-final clash against Al Hilal, as Al Ahli seek to move a step closer to the continental title.
The Dubai club, contesting the last four for the first time in their history, face last year’s finalists in the first leg at the King Fahd Stadium, where they will attempt to register a positive result to take into the return match on October 20.
Hilal, who defeated Al Ain at this stage last season, represent a difficult opponent, though, having began the 2015/16 domestic campaign in fine fashion.
The two-time Asian champions have won all three of their Saudi League matches.
The hosts boast a particularly strong record at home, too, and are unbeaten in front of their fervent support in the Champions League in two years.
Ahli will be keen to avoid the same fate Al Ain encountered there 12 months ago, when the Saudis ran rampant to take what proved to be an insurmountable 3-0 first-leg lead to the UAE.
Olaroiu, a former coach of Hilal, realises the size of the task facing his current side. However, he insists Ahli will not be affected by their underdog tag.
“No team is unbeatable and we have nothing to lose here,” Olaroiu said.
“We have put in a lot of effort to reach this stage, and we’ll be playing to complete the job.
“Al Hilal have more Asian cups and a big fan base, some new players and a manager that has managed to steer them in a positive direction.
“Their presence in the latter stages last year and this year proves how strong they are, whereas Al Ahli have passed to this stage for the first time. So it’s natural that Hilal will be favourites, especially since they’re playing at home.
“However, once we’re on the pitch the match will be decided by the team that is more calm and more focused.
“That team will be the one who progresses.”
Ahli have almost a full squad to choose from, with only Moussa Sow, this month’s acquisition from Turkey’s Fenerbahce, missing because he was signed after the tournament’s registration date.
Hilal must contend with the loss of Digao, the Brazilian defender, who is suspended for both legs.
Olaroiu said Digao’s absence will not alter his game plan, although he promised to go searching for what could be a crucial away goal.
Ahmed Khalil, the Ahli striker, echoed those sentiments. “It will be a difficult match, but we’ll follow the coach’s orders,” he said.
“Facing a big team with a lot of experience like Hilal requires extreme effort and concentration on the pitch. We’ve come to Riyadh to get a positive result, and we have to work hard. Nothing is impossible in football.”
Giorgos Donis, the Hilal coach, bemoaned the Asian Football Confederation’s late decision to ban Digao but said his teammates are fully concentrated on making the final.
“We expected this from the AFC because they don’t like us and waited until one day before the game,” he said.
“But we were prepared. Ahli are a strong team with good quality players, but I’m confident and optimistic. We are focused only on us. We hope to get a result that will help us for the second leg.”
KEY BATTLES
Kwon Kyung-won v Ailton Almeida
Ahli’s makeshift defender needs to be on his game against the dangerous Brazilian. Almeida has proved a hit following his summer transfer from Russian side Terek Grozny, scoring three goals. He is a robust presence up front who looks to stretch opponents, so Kwon will be keen to keep him facing away from goal. No easy task, though.
Majed Hassan v Carlos Eduardo
The tenacious Ahli midfielder will most likely be charged with shackling the in-form Hilal star. Since joining the Saudi Arabia club in the summer, Eduardo has scored six goals in six matches, including three in the quarter-final double-header against Lekhwiya. The attacking midfielder is given licence to roam and is a set-piece expert, too. Hilal’s chief threat.
Rodrigo Lima v Kwak Tae-hwi
On song since his summer move to Ahli, the Brazilian striker has impressed with his finishing ability and link-up play with Everton Ribeiro. He is up against a defence weakened by the absence of Digao, placing more onus on Kwak. Although vastly experienced, Kwak is 34 and not as quick as he once was. An away goal is vital for Ahli.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
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School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
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Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
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Total funding: Self funded
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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