When Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the final of the Uefa Champions League in Kiev on May 26, the date will hold a special resonance with UAE football fans.
Forty years earlier Liverpool, fresh from retaining what was then known as the European Cup following victory over Club Brugge at Wembley, visited Dubai to play a friendly match against Al Nasr to inaugurate the UAE club's Al Maktoum Stadium.
While Mohamed Salah is the superstar name in today's Liverpool line up, the team Bob Paisley brought to the Emirates in 1978 contained some stellar names too.
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When 1978 European champions Liverpool visited a Dubai 'most people cannot imagine'
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A team packed with international caps and more medals than the skyscrapers that now dominate the Dubai skyline included Ray Clemence, Alan Hansen, Emlyn Hughes, Terry McDermott and Jimmy Case. They took on the unknowns of Nasr at the 12,000-capacity Al Maktoum Stadium when the landscape in Dubai was a very different place to the metropolis it is now.
In June 2015, as part of The National's summer of sport series, Gary Meenaghan talked to local journalists and former Nasr players about the day Hughes' all-conquering side came to town.
You can also read the profiles of the Liverpool players who took part in that match.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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