It could be the moment for Ismail Matar to regain his position at the top of UAE football.
The forward burst on to the scene as the best player in the Fifa Youth World Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2003 and won both the best player and top scorer awards at the Gulf Cup in 2007, netting five goals in five matches as the UAE won their maiden regional championship.
Four years later, Matar will again be on the big stage in front of an international audience for Al Wahda, the Pro League champions, as the Club World Cup kicks off tonight at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
Matar, 27, is still regarded by many pundits as the best player in the country, but has not lived up to his reputation in recent seasons.
However, Josef Hickersberger, his coach, has backed the striker to produce in the tournament opener against Hekari United, the Oceania champions from Papua New Guinea.
"Ismail is a player who can change the game at any time and under any situation with one single move. That's why he is still regarded as the best player in the country," said the Austrian, who led Wahda to the Pro League title last season.
"His presence always has the opposition under pressure. Ismail is the target of all opposition attention and it is pretty obvious when you have a dangerous player on the pitch. For me, he need not necessarily score goals, but he creates for the others and has the opposition always under pressure, and that's a good enough contribution from him."
Matar won the Golden Ball for the best player at the Youth World Cup, an award voted for by journalists, as the UAE reached the last eight. He was also the UAE's hero when they won the Gulf Cup as hosts in 2007.
"Those were good times for me and hopefully I can do it again in the Club World Cup," Matar said. "It is not unusual for any player to go through a lean period, but I think I have done fairly well for the team, which is more important.
"The success of the team is what matters at the end. There is no point scoring goals if you can't win the game. All that we need is someone to put the ball in the back of the net, and I think we have enough players to do that for us."
The Football Association left Wahda players out of the senior national team sqaud that travelled to Yemen for this year's Gulf Cup so that they could concentrate in their preparation for the Club World Cup and Matar added: "We have trained and prepared for this competition as for no other tournaments.
"National pride is also at stake. The Football Association has made it clear that we do well and give a good impression of the UAE game.
"It is almost like playing for the national team in front of an international audience. We have a strong team with several national team players and four foreign players. All the players have been preserved with this event in mind. Some of those players with little injuries have got a good break to prepare themselves and they are all ready."
Matar has had opportunites in the past to leave Wahda for European clubs, but opted to stay in the UAE.
He played for Al Sadd of Qatar in the Emir Cup after moving on a six-month loan deal in May 2009. He scored three goals in two games and took his club to the semi-finals. Wahda renewed his contract for five years in 2009 and he intends to retire when that deal ends, in 2014.
"It is a long time from now and I am not sure what may happen, but at least that's what I have in mind," he said. "We may or may not qualify for the next World Cup in Brazil and I certainly can't think I'll still be playing until 2018. God willing, after football, I want to have my own business."
apassela@thenational.ae
8pm, Abu Dhabi Sport 1 and Aljazeera Sport 2, +3 and +8
Schedule
Mohammed bin Zayed ?Stadium
Today – qualification play-off: Al Wahda v Hekari United 8pm
Friday – quarter-final 1: TP Mazembe v Pachuca 8pm
Dec 14 – semi-final 1: Winner QF1 v Internacional 8pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium
Saturday – quarter-final 2: Play-off winner v Seongnam 8pm
Dec 15 – fifth-place play-off: 6pm; semi-final 2: Winner QF2 v Inter Milan 9pm
Dec 18 – third-place play-off: 6pm; Final: 9pm
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
