At such an early stage of the qualification campaign, with the top two in each group to qualify and third place guaranteed a play-off place, there is no need to panic.
But football does not just hinge on points and performances; perception also matters, which makes Armenia’s qualifier at home to Serbia tomorrow of great significance.
Nobody is sure any more what Armenia are. For 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were just another minnow.
But then, suddenly, in qualifying for the last European Championships, they had three straight wins, scored 11 goals in the process and played fluid, neat, attacking football.
Without warning they became a breakout side, a team that could cast aside the predictability of modern football on the back of a young generation of players, who, together, were far more than the sum of their parts.
A red card for their goalkeeper and an own goal in their final qualifier – away to the Republic of Ireland – cost Armenia a place in the play-offs, but the assumption was that the side, led by Borussia Dortmund’s attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, would continue to progress.
Then they finished second bottom of their World Cup qualifying group, but there are mitigating circumstances.
It was a tough and tight group and Armenia did achieve some good results, most notably winning 4-0 away to Denmark.
But even though they finished just three points off second place, there was a sense of progress stalled. Vardan Minasyan was replaced as manager by the former Switzerland Under 21 coach Bernard Challandes, but his start was disappointing as Armenia lost 2-1 in Denmark.
With Albania winning 1-0 in Portugal, the group now looks a genuine five-way fight, or at least it will if Armenia can get off the mark. Serbia, though, also has a fine crop of emerging talent and Armenia will be hampered by the foot injury that has ruled out Mkhitaryan.
That Armenia are even considered contenders for qualification is a sign of their enhanced status.
Their greatest moment as a football nation came in 1973 when Ararat Yerevan, which functioned as a de facto national side in Soviet times, won an unexpected double under Nikita Simonyan, who had already won the double as a player and coach at Spartak Moscow.
He was of Armenian heritage and had essentially been exiled to his homeland following disagreements with officials at Spartak.
“It was much harder to win the league with Ararat than it was with Spartak Moscow,” Simonyan said. “We had some good players, but essentially we were a provincial side. I had to change my personal style, because the players had a different mentality.
“We had two Ukrainians in the side, but they had lived in Yerevan from childhood, so they had adopted the spirit of the people.
“Players from the south are more skilful, more technical, even if it is bad for the team as a collective. You have to stick them to each other.”
That process of sticking the players to each other, of creating a cohesive unit in which they can express their individual ability, probably began under the former Sunderland midfielder and Chelsea manager Ian Porterfield, who took charge in 2006 and oversaw 10 games before his death from cancer the following year.
Although just two were wins, what was significant was that only nine goals were conceded.
Minasyan had served as Porterfield’s assistant and took over from him as caretaker. “The results do not suddenly come out of the blue,” he said. “We have many young players who have earned the coaches’ trust and have a clear understanding of what needs to be done.
“Our football is based on mutual trust. Everyone has the same approach, be it the coaches, the players, the Football Federation of Armenia or our team doctors. We are a whole and healthy mechanism.”
The squad is still young, the majority of players in their early 20s, but there is a sense that the clock is ticking, that promise can soon wither if there is not progress towards fulfilment.
Given the nature of the group, and given how important momentum is, Armenia could do with starting to deliver tomorrow.
sports@thenational.ae
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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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.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
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